‘Steve,’ directed by Tim Mielants, was released on 3rd October on Netflix and stars Cillian Murphy, Tracey Ullman, Jay Lycurgo, and Emily Watson.
A haunting start
‘Steve’ is not the kind of film that comes with easy answers. It opens with a man speaking as if the weight of his life is spilling out, and from that moment the tone is set. Directed by Tim Mielants and starring Cillian Murphy, the story takes us back to the mid-1990s inside a British reform school that is barely holding itself together.
The film is based on Max Porter’s novella ‘Shy’ and runs for just over ninety minutes. It’s short, but it leaves a mark that lasts longer than you expect. This film doesn’t really aim to please. Instead, it places us inside a broken world, asking us to sit with it. While so many modern films try to impress with scale and spectacle, ‘Steve’ works in the shadows, showing the fragile lives most of us never get to see.
One chaotic day
The events take place over a single day at Stanton Wood, a school for troubled teenage boys who have been pushed out of every other institution. Steve (Cillian Murphy), the headteacher, who is already worn down before his day even begins.
Then one problem after another lands on him: a film crew arrives to make an “inspiring” documentary, a politician drops by to pose for cameras, and the final blow comes when Steve learns the school will close in six months. At the same time, we meet Shy (Jay Lycurgo), a student full of anger and on the edge of being expelled.
His fury mirrors Steve’s own hidden struggles. The film moves fast, switching between interviews and handheld shots that give it a restless, unsettled energy. Music from the 1990s, especially drum and bass tracks, makes the mood even sharper.
Details of the setting—chipped paint, broken furniture, the constant hum of a television—turn the school into more than just a backdrop.
Fragile systems exposed
Beneath the surface, ‘Steve’ is really about how fragile social systems become when money and attention are stripped away. The shaky camerawork, the noise of voices cutting across each other, and the poetic lines from Max Porter’s script all add to the feeling of disorder. The film refuses to paint a picture of simple redemption.
No one is saved in a grand way, and such elements feel far more powerful than any neat ending could. At times, the drama can seem forced, especially when the ever-present documentary crew is there to catch every breakdown.
But the larger point comes through clearly. The problems shown in the film are not just about the 1990s. They echo what we still see today in underfunded schools and neglected communities.
Cillian Murphy at his most raw
The cast is what gives the film its real force. Cillian Murphy plays Steve as a man who carries years of exhaustion, regret, and tenderness in the smallest gestures. His performance builds slowly, and when he finally breaks down, it feels both painful and real.
Jay Lycurgo is equally strong as Shy, showing a boy who is both angry and desperate to be understood. Around them, the supporting actors add colour and balance. Tracey Ullman is sharp and funny as his deputy, and Little Simz brings a rare sense of hope as a school counsellor.
The young actors are also convincing, with their banter and mischief feeling unscripted and natural.
A quiet aftershock
‘Steve’ leaves you with a mix of heaviness and quiet admiration. It’s not perfect—some moments lean into melodrama—but it’s honest. The film is about the exhaustion of keeping things together when the world seems to be collapsing, but also about the strength that appears in small, surprising ways.
Mielants and Murphy do not create a polished story with answers; they create something that feels lived-in and urgent. Watching it is draining, but it also lingers in the best way. ‘Steve’ feels less like entertainment and more like a reminder.
Even when an institution is falling apart, or when one person seems too tired to go on, there can still be resilience hidden in the quiet determination.
Rating: 3.5/5
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