"SELAH AND THE SPADES," FIRST FEATURE FILM OF TAYARISHA POE, DEBUTS ON AMAZON PRIME APRIL 17, 2020
 |
| Celeste O'Connor, Lovie Simone, Jharrel Jerome, Photo: Courtesy of Amazon Studios |
Selah (Lovie Simone) is feared and revered as the leader of the Spades, one of five factions at the Haldwell School, a private boarding school. Selah is fixated on her legacy as the most powerful and fearless leader of the most dominant faction. The other four? First, there is the Sea, run by Tarit (Henry Hunter Hall), teachers’ pets who actually are rogues, helping students cheat. Next, are the Skins, run by Amber (Francesca Noel), who handle the gambling needs. The third, the Bobbys, are run by Bobby (Ana Mulvoy Ten); they organize illegal dorm parties. The fourth, the Prefects, are headed by Two Tom (Evan Roe); this faction keeps administrators from discovering all the illegal activities. The Spades, the most powerful and led by Selah with Maxxie (Jharrel Jerome) at her side, sell booze, pills, powder and more.
The dictate followed by all the factions is “don’t be a rat.”
“Selah and the Spades” (2019, 97 minutes), is a gangster movie disguised as a fable about teenage angst, high school politics and friendship. Selah, confident and in charge, eyes a new student, Paloma (Celeste O’Connor). Paloma may be the right candidate to groom as a protégé, to take over the Spades after Selah graduates. At first, Paloma enjoys the attention and is happy to follow Selah’s lead. As Paloma delves into this world, she develops her own confidence and begins expressing her own ideas about power and school politics. The seeds of distrust are sown.
This film is the first feature film of writer and director Tayarisha Poe. The student body of Haldwell School is mostly black and brown students, an intentional reversal of the conventional private school film populated with mostly white male students (think “Dead Poets Society, “Rushmore,” “Scent of a Woman”). Asked about how she developed Selah’s character, Tayarish responded:
Selah was born out of this frustration of me knowing that if I were too headstrong or aggressive, I might be stereotyped as an aggressive black woman, so I spent a lot of time being chill and even-tempered. But it’s exhausting to constantly be thinking about how other people are seeing you, so Selah was born of my frustration with that, combined with the notion of examining what life would be like if you didn’t have to lean into the image of what you should be, or how you should act, or what you should be doing with your life, or your body, or your energy. Selah came out of those feelings, and she’s evolved over the years into something deeper and more complex.
So, when Selah learns that there is a snitch, she will track him down, no holds barred. Paloma isn’t necessarily buying into Selah’s point of view, that “you have to put fear in them, to show actions have consequences.” Paloma’s gut tells her this isn’t right. She is not sure she is willing to get her hands dirty “for the greater good.” Selah gives her a loyalty test. She passes it, for the moment.
After the betrayal is handled, the Spades and other factions are told by the principal (Jesse Williams) that prom is canceled. He is aware of misconduct, maybe not all of it, but enough to draw a line. Selah organizes a summit meeting of the factions. They will take the power back and hold their own prom. They are in charge. A rowdy party ensues, and Selah turns on Paloma. What happens to the bond between Selah, Paloma and Maxxie? Stay tuned. I have read a few sources that say Amazon is developing this into a series.
Tayarisha Poe was asked what she is saying about human nature. She responds:
I’m fascinated by the purity of emotion that exists in teenagers…..I should qualify that in no way do I think that Selah is good or bad – and this applies to the other characters. I view them all as neutral and living in a grey area, which is why I love them, because I believe in living in grey areas. But my biggest goal with the film springs out of that phrase sympathy for the devil – but for me, it’s empathy for the devil. I want audiences to have empathy for people who are doing things in life they may disagree with.
This film is beautifully shot with a bright colors, a gauzy look at times and occasional jazzy camera moves. At times, the camera holds an image so we can reflect and contemplate the still-life. Many times, there are close-ups of the characters’ faces, highlighting changing emotions, limiting the need for dialogue now and then. These moments of prolonged silence, along with the use of fade-to-black moments, allow time for contemplation.
“Selah and the Spades” will begin screening on Amazon Prime on April 17, 2020. Here is a link to the trailer: https://youtu.be/-nK6WFgdchM The film received accolades at Sundance, the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Blackstar Film Festival.
