Steve

Name: Steve
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: September 19, 2025
Duration: 93 min
Rating: 66

2025

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Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date: September 19, 2025 | R

Summary: Set in the mid-90s, Steve is a reimagining of Max Porter's Sunday Times bestseller Shy. The film follows a pivotal day in the life of headteacher Steve (Cillian Murphy) and his students at a last-chance reform school amidst a world that has forsaken them. As Steve fights to protect the school’s integrity and impending closure, we witnessSet in the mid-90s, Steve is a reimagining of Max Porter's Sunday Times bestseller Shy. The film follows a pivotal day in the life of headteacher Steve (Cillian Murphy) and his students at a last-chance reform school amidst a world that has forsaken them. As Steve fights to protect the school’s integrity and impending closure, we witness him grappling with his own mental health. In parallel to Steve’s struggles, we meet Shy (Jay Lycurgo), 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.… Expand

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 93 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Peter Debruge

Sep 5, 2025

A profoundly moving and superbly acted diamond in the rough, Steve is better than anything the streamer has pushed for best picture to date. Read full review

Next Best Picture Nadia Dalimonte

Sep 7, 2025

Led by a remarkable Cillian Murphy and featuring a stellar supporting ensemble, "Steve” strikes an empathetic chord by placing mental health concerns at the forefront of discussion. Read full review

Radio Times Terry Staunton

Oct 3, 2025

It’s high drama throughout and not always comfortable viewing, but Mielants and Porter use their canvas to shine a light on broader issues of social and educational systemic failure without once stumbling into preachiness. Read full review

Collider Ross Bonaime

Sep 16, 2025

Steve is an adequate film about teachers, students, and the struggles that they both go through, but it’s also hard not to think that a bit more insight into the lives of the students earlier on — particularly from the perspective of Shy — could’ve made this into something even more special. Read full review

David Fear

Oct 6, 2025

As [Murphy] proved in Oppenheimer, his silences can speak volumes, and some of Steve‘s best moments simply involve you watching him think. Read full review

Jacob Oller

Oct 1, 2025

Though Steve is a capable conduit for the myriad familiar dramas of juvenile delinquent storytelling, there’s just not enough time in the day (or the film’s wishy-washy 24-hours-in-hell structure) to give anything the attention it deserves. Read full review

David Jenkins

Sep 18, 2025

A general lack of detail ends up meaning that a lot of the film’s emotion and ideas are stated directly, whether through Murphy’s jittery (and at times quite contrived) performance, or via a voiceover device. Read full review

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