From Blackboard Jungle to Lean on Me, classrooms often provide the backdrops in films. Many in this class of movies are known for their intensity, and inspiring themes and characters. Steve, a new school-set picture from Netflix, brings viewers challenging students, selfless teachers and a story about a community of outsiders struggling against the indifference of society and its cold and calculating systems.
Steve (Cillian Murphy) is the passionate, dedicated headteacher at Stanton Wood, a residential reform school for boys with severe behavioral and social issues. Set in mid-1990s England, the film finds its title character fighting to maintain order and protect his students over the course of one chaotic school day. Stanton Wood is the last refuge for boys society has abandoned, and Steve works to guide and support the troubled young men while grappling with his own emotions and mental health issues.
One of the biggest challenges of the day is the presence of a documentary film crew on campus capturing the daily chaos. Director Tim Mielants uses their interviews with students and staff for exposition and character introductions, and he deploys handheld cameras to capture the ebb and flow in the school’s congested corridors and classrooms. The film crew’s presence adds another layer of pressure to an already volatile environment — especially when a pompous Member of Parliament (Roger Allam) arrives for a campaign trail appearance.
When the school’s trustees make an announcement about future plans for Stanton Wood, the shock of the news ricochets through the institution. Against the backdrop of usual anarchy — fights breaking out in the cafeteria, students breaking down in the counselor’s office — teachers and government bureaucrats clash over how to care for vulnerable youth when resources run dry.
The announcement of the school closure adds to the challenges faced by Shy (Jay Lycurgo), who grapples with his own devastating news that he’s being disowned by his parents. In contrast, Steve’s unflagging commitment to boys like Shy is taking an unsustainable personal toll on his health and sanity. A phone conversation between Shy and his mother informs viewers of Shy’s surprisingly violent past, even as it reveals him to have the emotional maturity of a lonely little boy. The combination of the two is emblematic of a movie that finds Mielants inhabiting bleak environments with deeply human performances.
Lycurgo and the film’s young actors bring Stanton Wood’s student body to life in performances that range from wounded to savage. Steve also boasts a great adult cast including Tracey Ullman, Little Simz and Emily Watson. The actors and director manage to bring viewers to volatile students and world-weary educators, embracing the tropes of a classroom drama while avoiding clichés. Watson and Murphy previously worked with Mielants on Small Things Like These (2024), a working-class drama set in 1980s Ireland. Still fresh off his Oscar win for Oppenheimer, Murphy continues stretching beyond romantic leads and gangster roles, and fans of his recent work will find a lot to like here.
As the day progresses, Steve battles his mental health issues, alcohol, and drug problems as he begins to unravel, and the troubles and trauma Steve has in common with the kids begin to break through all of his efforts at calm, responsible mentorship. The parallels between Steve’s breakdown and Shy’s interior turmoil constitute a wide-ranging exploration of compassion, burnout and society’s relationship with its most vulnerable.
Murphy plays Steve as a man whose loving intentions are undermined by his own instability, resulting in a story that’s as fractured and flawed as its protagonist. The film is not as rousing as Dead Poets Society or Stand and Deliver, but it’s an intense picture worth watching for its emotional portrait of a generous teacher and a community of good boys in bad trouble.
Steve is streaming on Netflix
Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.