Steve
Netflix | Release Date: September 19, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
13
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
ColliderRoss BonaimeSep 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
80
EmpireMiriam BalanescuSep 18, 2025
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. Read full review
42
IndieWireRichard LawsonSep 5, 2025
The film is trying quite hard to be a bracing and immersive depiction of rehabilitation’s hard toil. But “Steve” is instead a pantomime, an offhanded approximation of work that fails to convincingly show us the actual work. Read full review
40
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsSep 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
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleSep 23, 2025
“Steve,” sincere in its hardcore concern, believably acted, is too scattered and schematically plotted to fully pull us into the emotional toll and scruffy joys of this work. Read full review
80
Next Best PictureNadia DalimonteSep 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
49
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerSep 19, 2025
It’s like a TV pilot poorly dressed up as a character study. Read full review
80
Radio TimesTerry StauntonOct 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
63
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoSep 6, 2025
The script fails to find depth in some of its most crucial characters, and sometimes feels performatively intense, but the Oscar winner for “Oppenheimer” shines throughout, adding subtlety and grace in places other actors would have ignored. Read full review
60
Rolling StoneDavid FearOct 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
80
Screen DailyNikki BaughanSep 6, 2025
While the entire cast impresses, standout performances come from Murphy and Lycurgo. They make it clear that Steve and Shy are two sides of the same coin, both shaped by past trauma and finding it almost impossible to exorcise their demons. Read full review
60
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiSep 7, 2025
Its focus may have needed some more fine-tuning, but Steve proves meaningful regardless. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubJacob OllerOct 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
85
The Daily BeastNick SchagerSep 5, 2025
A frenzied plea for compassion and a stirring tribute to the men and women who sacrifice their lives, and sanity, for those in need. Read full review
58
The Film StageJake Kring-SchreifelsSep 17, 2025
Murphy keeps Steve on the tracks. Among his great gifts is an ability to convey feelings while internally processing information. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawSep 5, 2025
A drama suffused with gonzo energy and the death-metal chaos of emotional pain, cut with slashes of bizarre black humour. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneySep 11, 2025
Moments of humor and rare quiet are essential to relieve the manic chaos that more often reigns in this unflinching but compassionate slice of social realism. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreySep 6, 2025
Steve is a thoughtful, impassioned film in practice. Yet it’s deliberately made itself secondary to its source material. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeSep 17, 2025
For all the bustle, flow and noise, there is little here we haven’t seen before. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNatalia WinkelmanOct 2, 2025
In hewing closely to Steve, the whole affair takes on a grating note of self-sacrifice, of perseverance through suffering. Read full review
42
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodSep 5, 2025
Mielants and Porter end the film in a manner that is almost offensive to the audience. This isn’t about providing a spotlight for kids with behavioral issues or the professionals who commit their lives to them; it’s melodrama for melodrama’s sake, with an awkward attempt at a “happy ending” that is borderline cringe. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyOct 3, 2025
As a feat of adaptation by Max Porter, from his 2023 novella Shy, it’s quite fascinating. Read full review
100
VarietyPeter DebrugeSep 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
70
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonOct 2, 2025
The filmmakers may have refashioned the book to make it a vehicle for Mr. Murphy, and done so successfully. But they were right about the POV: Witnessing the turmoil of these very troubled youths through the frustrations of their teachers makes for more convincing drama than would a delinquent’s-eye view of the same situation. Read full review
75
Washington PostTy BurrSep 18, 2025
The film ends with a plea for viewers suffering from depression and other mental health issues to reach out for help. “Steve” is a deeply compassionate drama of why they should. Read full review
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