Steve Movie Review- An Emotional Tornado With Cillian Murphy’s Oscar-Worthy Performance

Sometimes it takes a few minutes for you to get out of the psychological toll a film has had on you. And this is exactly what Cillian Murphy’s Steve (2025) did to me.

This Steve movie review presents you with a breakdown of the chaos, the brilliance, and Murphy’s unforgettable performance to help you decide whether to hit play on Netflix right now—or skip this unsettling ride for another day.

Plot details of Steve (2025)

Based on a novella by Max Porter, Shy, published in 2023, the film Steve (2025) is set in the mid-90s and shows the story of 24 hours in a special school that takes care of mentally challenged young boys. They are rash, violent, and behaviorally upsetting, but the headteacher, Steve (played by Cillian Murphy), does not want to give up.​

The school is nearing its closure in about six months, and all the staff are trying hard to maintain the institute’s integrity while the documentary makers are on the campus.

Watch the trailer here, which features a student named Shy. He has his violent tendencies, but is different from others. Steve tries to remain calm with him while already at war with his own inner fragilities.

Actors’ performances in Steve (2025)

Cillian Murphy as Steve is extraordinary. He had already won an Oscar for Oppenheimer (2023), yet again, he improves day by day, proving to be one of the finest actors in the industry. He has a dramatic power that pulls you to the screen and elevates the scene’s intensity to another level.

Murphy’s one scene that stood out for me was when he was shouting at Julian (played by Ben Lloyd-Hughes), who informed him about the school’s impending closure. The inner emotional turmoil showed right on Murphy’s face when he ferociously asked him to “Shut up”.  

Steve’s despair was evident as he had a direct challenge with very limited resources to take care of the reform school children. His feelings of helplessness when he was shouting in the basement all by himself with a liquor bottle in his hands, his substance addiction, and his desperate attempt to prevent succumbing to his negative feelings and save the students- all are proof that he is ridiculously good as an actor.

No words for Jay Lycurgo’s Shy as well. He is innocent, trapped in a bubble of his own, loves hard rock music, which helps him evade the true colors of the outside world, and is torn by the words his own mother uttered to him that shattered his world.

The three words that he used to describe himself were “depressed, angry and bored”. These are the feelings of disconnection that no one could have ever portrayed better than Lycurgo.

Tracey Ullman as Amanda and Little Simz as Shola were two other notable performers in the film, who did justice to their roles.

What do critics add to Steve movie review?

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes shows a positive review for the film Steve. Here’s what it says,

“A sobering drama that throws everything along with the kitchen sink at its doggedly determined hero, Steve‘s pileup of crises can strain credulity, but Cillian Murphy’s superb performance keeps it grounded in reality.” [Source]

Digging deeper into the critics’ review, there is not much of an approval of the film as a whole despite Murphy’s incredible performance. One of the critics pointed out the script to be “too high with melodramatic incidents”. The other felt it was handled in a “klutzy” manner, where Steve’s character intermittently kept losing focus.

Otherwise, the majority of the reviews were positive, applauding Mielants’ immersive storytelling, making it emotional for the audience, which might persuade some to cry at the end.

Fans’ reaction

The audience rating was even lower than that of the critics. Where most of the fans were all praise for Murphy’s acting, some found it bleak towards the end. They felt Murphy wasn’t enough to save the film. The scriptwriter didn’t do well, and the director isn’t experienced enough to expand on complicated stories like this.

Is it worth watching?

Steve (2025) stands out for its raw depiction of resilience in education and the powerful performances of its cast. But is it a must-watch? The film’s emotional complexity and Murphy’s performance strongly argue yes—especially if you’re drawn to stories about struggle, empathy, and perseverance.

Some teachers change your life, and this film seems to be a perfect Teachers’ Day tribute this year. Teachers who have struggled to do anything for their students, even if it means suffering quietly on the inside.

Every human being has struggles of their own. Some of us are open about it, while others are not. Those who are not are the ones fighting each day, simply even to make it through.

Though it might feel at some instances that you need to read the novella first to understand certain feelings of the characters, such as why Steve kept recording or why Shy kept stones in his backpack. Though the film clarifies it later with the suicide attempt scene; for the mini-recorder thing, Steve wants to make sense of his experiences. This was his way of grappling with the difficult circumstances, a way of his self-expression.

He kept on hearing them later as a way of making sense of his experiences through the mess he has to deal with every day, still loving his students to bits. It was his search for his own identity, a reflection and an endeavor to structure his thoughts.

Steve was filmed in an exquisitely emotional manner. The document makers showed clips every now and then, shedding light on each character’s inner struggles, the three words to describe their own selves or their fellow colleagues, and especially all the students with their personality traits that Steve kept narrating to Shola were all fantastic.

The film appeared to be a stunning yet intricate visual of emotions, and how messy it could be simply just to be a human.

What we liked

• Cillian Murphy’s tour-de-force performance
• Jay Lycurgo’s heartfelt portrayal of Shy
• Themes of mental and emotional struggles
• Documentary-style direction
• A tribute to educators

What could be better

• Inconsistent script quality
• Unfocused narrative arcs
• Direction lacked finesse at times

​Here’s a detailed breakdown of our rating for Steve (2025):

Story/plot	8/10
Characters and acting	9.5/10
Direction and pacing	8/10
Visuals and cinematography	8.5/10
Soundtrack/score	8.5/10
Themes and message	9/10
Emotional impact	9/10
Creativity/originality	7/10
Rewatchability	6/10

​​Our rating: 8

 

 

 

 

 

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Is Steve (2025) available for streaming?

Yes, Steve (2025) (R-rated) is available for streaming on Netflix after October 3, 2025.

Genre: Drama

IMDB rating: 6.5

Rotten Tomatoes: 77 percent on Tomatometer (critics’ score) and 66 percent on Popcornmeter

Cast: Cillian Murphy, Tracey Ullman, Emily Watson, Jay Lycurgo, Little Simz

Director: Tim Mielants

Writer: Max Porter

Producers: Cillian Murphy, Alan Moloney, Tina Pawlik

Release date: October 3, 2025

Movie runtime: 1 hour 33 minutes

Do you agree with the film Steve’s review here? What are your thoughts about the movie? Comment below.