Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) trades World War II era-Los Alamos for a mid-90s English boarding school in the upcoming Steve.
Directed by Tim Mielants, Steve invites viewers into a pivotal day in the life of its titular character (Murphy). He’s the headteacher at a last-chance reform school for boys, a crumbling institution faced with external pressure but little actual support. Among the school’s students is Shy (Jay Lycurgo), a troubled teen struggling to reconcile his tough past with his potential future.
Shy is actually the main character of the novella on which Steve is based, Max Porter’s Sunday Times bestseller Shy. While the novella brings us into Shy’s innermost thoughts and feelings, the film reimagines its source material to center Steve instead, following the difficulties of his job, along with his efforts to try to get through to students like Shy.
The film, which makes its world premiere at 2025’s Toronto International Film Festival, marks Murphy’s second feature collaboration with Mielants, who also directed 2024’s Murphy-led Small Things Like These. Steve overlaps further with Small Things Like These, as both films also star Emily Watson (Dune: Prophecy).
In addition to Murphy, Lycurgo, and Watson, Steve also stars Tracey Ullman and Simbi Ajikawo as fellow staff at the school. Watch them try to get through to the complex young men in their care in the trailer above.
Steve premieres Sept. 5 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It hits select theaters Sept. 19, then arrives on Netflix Oct. 3.
