Cillian Murphy has been praised for his turn in new Netflix drama Steve – which is available to watch on the streamer now. The movie focuses on a reform school for troubled teenage boys over the course of one day, with the Oscar-winner playing the titular headteacher as he fights to protect the institution from closure.
Based on the novel Shy by Max Porter, who writes the screenplay, Steve has largely received praise from critics, with particular love for Murphy – who The Guardian called "outstanding" in his performance.
Here's what reviewers have been saying.
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 Guardian
"A drama suffused with gonzo energy and the death-metal chaos of emotional pain, cut with slashes of bizarre black humour. Max Porter has adapted his own 2023 novella Shy for the screen and Murphy himself gives one of his most uninhibited and demonstrative performances."
Rolling Stone
"As the title suggests, the focus is on Steve, and Murphy puts in a committed and believable performance as the man trying to hold everything together while battling his own demons. The extent of those demons is gradually revealed as the film continues [...] It’s darkly funny and thought-provoking – and as nail-biting as you might expect."
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The Hollywood Reporter
"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, which Netflix would be wise to push with the same audience that made Adolescence a talked-about hit."
Los Angeles Times
"Insolent schoolkids and educators with the stamina and sensitivity to reach them is a sentimental formula so familiar, it could stand a pantsing in the hallway between classes. Which makes it a good thing that Steve, starring Cillian Murphy as a dedicated, troubled head teacher at a struggling reform school for chaos-inclined teenage boys, brings a raucously corrective attitude to bear."
The Times
"There’s a manic energy to every shaky-cam scene that, by the end, seems to be hiding something. Murphy, however, is mesmerising."
The Independent
"Steve is a thoughtful, impassioned film in practice. Yet it’s deliberately made itself secondary to its source material."
Steve is available to stream now on Netflix.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
