SummarySet 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 grap... Read More
Directed By:Tim Mielants
Written By:Max Porter
Steve
Metascore
Generally Favorable
66
User score
Generally Favorable
6.3
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
66
48% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
52% Mixed
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Sep 5, 2025
100
A profoundly moving and superbly acted diamond in the rough, Steve is better than anything the streamer has pushed for best picture to date.
Sep 18, 2025
80
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.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.3
51% Positive
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
40% Mixed
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
9% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Dec 3, 2025
8
Steve has competent filmmaking and emotionality to make it very intriguing. The characters are pretty likeable despite or maybe because of the bipolarity of their behaviour. They are also the most realistically complex characters I've seen in a long time. Shy is the most in focus out of the kids and he is the most likeable, at least for me. The directing is good and the cinematography is great. The camera movement is really messy, but in a good way, because it translates a part of how the characters live their lives. The lighting is always really strong and contrasting. The editing is also messy, basically non-linear it an unusual way. The pacing is pretty fast and that's why this movie never felt boring. The acting performances are spectacular, Cillian Murphy delivers something that's just as good as his Oscar winning performance, but completely different. Steve is heavy, intriguing and well-paced.
Sep 5, 2025
80
A drama suffused with gonzo energy and the death-metal chaos of emotional pain, cut with slashes of bizarre black humour.
Oct 6, 2025
60
As [Murphy] proved in Oppenheimer, his silences can speak volumes, and some of Steve‘s best moments simply involve you watching him think.
Sep 7, 2025
60
Its focus may have needed some more fine-tuning, but Steve proves meaningful regardless.
Oct 2, 2025
50
In hewing closely to Steve, the whole affair takes on a grating note of self-sacrifice, of perseverance through suffering.
Sep 18, 2025
40
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.
Nov 22, 2025
8
There's definitely a lot in Steve that feels like it could've been explored much further than what we get in this well-made 92 minute film, Cillian Murphy delivers a genuinely compelling performance, and the kids along with the supporting cast all bring a strong presence to the screen, storywise, the film leaves room for a deeper dive, i would've loved to learn more about the school, its environment, and what Steve actually does during his time there as headteacher. Even so, for the brief runtime it has, the film manages to offer enough for me to stay engaged with the story, connect with the characters, and appreciate the powerful performances and message running throughout, it's a small film, but a surprisingly impactful one, quiet, focused, and resonant.
Oct 12, 2025
8
What is interesting here is how they narrate the routine of a boarding school in documentary form, focusing on the dilemmas and demons faced by one of its teachers. The highlight is Cillian Murphy's performance.
Nov 18, 2025
6
Solid, low scale work. More time on the student population was needed I think.
