In+the+closed+world+of+an+elite+Pennsylvania+boarding+school%2C+Haldwell%2C+the+student+body+is+run+by+five+factions.+Seventeen-year-old+Selah+Summers+%28Lovie+Simone%29+runs+the+most+dom-inant+group%2C+the+Spades%2C+with+unshakable+poise%2C+as+they+cater+to+the+most+classic+of+vices+and+supply+students+with+coveted%2C+illegal+alcohol+and+pills.+Tensions+between+the+factions+escalate%2C+and+when+Selahs+best+friend%2Fright+hand+Maxxie+%28MOONLIGHTs+Jharrel+Jerome%29+becomes+distracted+by+a+new+love%2C+Selah+takes+on+a+protge%2C+enamored+sophomore+Palo-ma+%28Celeste+O%27Connor%29%2C+to+whom+she+imparts+her+wisdom+on+ruling+the+school.+But+with+graduation+looming+and+Paloma+proving+an+impressively+quick+study%2C+Selahs+fears+turn+sin-ister+as+she+grapples+with+losing+the+control+by+which+she+defines+herself.+In+her+feature+debut%2C+writer%2Fdirector+Tayarisha+Poe+immerses+us+in+a+heightened+depiction+of+teenage+politics.+This+searing+character+study+encapsulates+just+how+intoxicating+power+can+be+for+a+teenage+girl+who+acutely+feels+the+threat+of+being+denied+it.+Exciting+newcomer+Lovie+Simones+performance+beautifully+embodies+both+Selahs+publicly+impeccable+com-mand+and+the+internal+fears+and+uncertainty+that+drive+it.