Cillian Murphy’s ‘stressful’ new movie has just been added to Netflix

The film sees the Irish Oscar-winner reteaming with the director of Peaky Blinders and Small Things Like These.

The drama is based on the novella Shy by Max Porter, who also adapted the book for the screen. Murphy plays the film's title character, a headteacher at a last-chance reform school in Britain in the mid-90s.

The story takes place over one pivotal day where Steve fights to protect the school’s integrity amidst its impending closure, while also grappling with his own mental health.

"In parallel to Steve’s struggles, we meet Shy (Jay Lycurgo, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself), a troubled teen caught between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to reconcile his inner fragility with his impulse for self-destruction and violence," the plot synopsis reads.

Alongside Lycurgo and Murphy, the cast of the movie also includes Emily Watson (Small Things Like These), Roger Allam (The Wind That Shakes the Barley), Tracey Ullman (Black Doves), as well as rapper Little Simz (Top Boy).

Steve had its world premiere at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival on 5 September, before being released in select cinemas later that month.

The drama has been well-received by critics for the most part. In particular, the lead performances by Lycurgo and Murphy; the script's sympathetic portrait of its teen characters and the teachers that care for them; and the way Mielants captures the stress of the central environment through his stylishly chaotic direction have been singled out for praise.

You can read a sample of some of these glowing write-ups below:

Common Sense Media: "The movie is an intense watch, from start to finish, barely stopping for breath during its 93-minute runtime."

The Daily Beast: "A frenzied plea for compassion and a stirring tribute to the men and women who sacrifice their lives, and sanity, for those in need."

Empire: "Making full use of Cillian Murphy’s emotional range, Steve is a rallying, railing portrayal of a broken education system — and contemporary cinema’s worthy answer to Dead Poets Society."

The Observer: "Steve is gripping and exhausting... This film - and Murphy’s devastating performance - exist in a class of their own.

Metro: "It will take viewers back to their own school days in the most evocative and eye-opening of ways… Steve quietly grabs you at the throat and doesn’t let go for a stressful, sometimes funny, and often poignant 92 minutes, thanks to its outstanding cast."

Wall Street Journal: "If one isn’t moved, one should check one’s pulse."

Steve is available to stream on Netflix now. Check out its trailer below:

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