British writer Max Porter has adapted his 2023 novella Shy into a ’90s-set Netflix film with Cillian Murphy in the lead — and there’s a new trailer for Steve out today.
Reunited with Small Things Like These director Tim Mielants, Murphy plays the titular protagonist, a head teacher at a reform school for teen offenders. As Steve privately navigates mental health struggles and the possible closure of the school, troubled student Shy (Last Swim star Jay Lycurgo) is also figuring it all out, with his past and imminent future weighing heavily on his young shoulders.
Mashable entertainment editor Kristy Puchko praised the film after its premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, writing of “complicated portraits of the troubled youth in a reform school, and the grown-ups assigned to their care. The resulting film is an emotional roller coaster and a call to action, demanding its audience rethink their views of such schools and those within them.”
Notably, the film also stars Simbi Ajikawo aka Little Simz, who has released her track “Don’t Leave Too Soon” for the film. And if you’re into the scores of Alex Garland films like Annihilation, Civil War, and Ex Machina, composers Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow are back with another banger for Steve.
Steve debuts on Netflix Oct. 3.
