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Steve trailer: Cillian Murphy stars as headteacher at reform school in Netflix drama | Watch | Hollywood
Netflix has dropped the official trailer for Steve, the upcoming drama starring Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy, based on Max Porter’s 2023 novel Shy. The film follows a crucial day in the life of headteacher Steve, who is fighting to save his last-chance reform school from closure while navigating his own spiralling mental health.
The streaming giant dropped the trailer on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “At a reform school in mid-90s England, these lost boys get one last chance. Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy and Jay Lycurgo star in STEVE.” The movie will be released in select theaters on September 9 and begin streaming globally on Netflix on October 3, they added.
Steve plot
Set in the 1990s, Steve captures the mounting pressure on both the school and its headteacher. As the institution faces shutdown, Steve (Murphy) must confront not only bureaucratic battles but also the emotional toll of working with boys who have been written off by society.
According to a report in Variety, the film also follows Shy (Jay Lycurgo), a volatile yet vulnerable student wrestling with his past and a dangerous impulse toward self-destruction. The intertwined struggles of a teacher and student form the heart of the story.
Steve cast
Murphy, Collider report stated, will be reuniting with Peaky Blinders Season 3 and Small Things Like These director Tim Mielants for the project. The cast also features Emily Watson, Simbi Ajikawo (Little Simz), and comedy legend Tracey Ullman in a rare dramatic turn.
Author Max Porter adapted his own novel for the screen and expanded the narrative from Shy’s limited perspective to include Steve’s deeply personal journey, according to the Variety report. He also serves as an executive producer alongside Murphy, Alan Moloney, and Tina Pawlik. The score is composed by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow.
Murphy draws from real-life inspiration
In developing Steve’s character, Murphy tapped into his own upbringing in a family of educators, the Collider report stated. He was quoted in the report saying that both his parents are teachers and that his grandfather was a headmaster. He claimed to know the world “inside-out”.
“This is a more extreme version, but it’s grounded in real people I know and trust. It was scary in a great way, being in that constant state of anxiety for two months,” Cillian Murphy was quoted as saying.
FAQs
Q: Is Cillian Murphy playing Steve?
A: Yes, Murphy plays the title role of Steve, the headteacher of a reform school.
Q: What is the film Steve about?
A: It follows a pivotal day in Steve’s life as he fights to save his school from closure while grappling with his own mental health, alongside the story of a troubled student named Shy.
Q: What’s the movie All About Steve about?
A: All About Steve is an unrelated 2009 romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock. It has no connection to the Netflix drama Steve.