Oscar-winning actor Cillian Murphy once again wins hearts and praise with his powerful acting. His new film Steve, now on Netflix, takes a deep look at teenage anger and mental health. The story is set in a British reform school during the 1990s, showing how trauma and neglect affect both the students and the teachers who try to help them. The main focus of the movie is on two characters, the headteacher, Steve, played by Cillian Murphy, and a troubled student named Shy, played by Jay Lycurgo. Their bond becomes the emotional center of the story.
Steve is based on the novella Shy by Max Porter, and Cillian Murphy also co-produced it. The film runs for about an hour and a half and shows the deep struggles of a man trying to hold everything together. Steve is a kind but tired headteacher at a reform school for boys who are dealing with anger, trauma, and loss. Among them is Shy, a boy who reminds him of his own younger self. While Steve tries to guide these boys toward a better life, he secretly fights his own battles. He struggles with mental health issues, guilt over a fatal car accident from his past, and an addiction to alcohol and painkillers. To escape his own pain, he throws himself into helping his students, hoping to save them even if he cannot save himself.
But things take a hard turn when Steve learns that the government plans to shut down the school in six months because of budget cuts. This news is kept from the students to avoid chaos, but it eats away at him. Adding to the pressure, a documentary crew arrives to film the school, but their real goal seems more about money and publicity than care or truth. Steve begins to crumble under the stress and turns back to his old addictions. Still, the bond he shares with his students, especially Shy, gives him the strength to fight back. Their connection becomes the reason he tries to pull himself together, even as everything around him begins to fall apart.
What happens to Cillian Murphy’s ‘Shy’ in the movie Steve?
In the film, Shy struggles with violent outbursts, past trauma, and a future that feels uncertain. Steve, the headteacher, sees himself in Shy. The boy’s anger and self-destructive behavior reflect Steve’s own inner pain. Steve keeps telling Shy, “You’re not alone,” but he also needs to believe that for himself. Shy’s suffering grows worse when his mother calls to say she and his stepfather are cutting him off completely.
Shy pleads with them, but his mother refuses to change her mind. This rejection shatters him. In his despair, he decides to end his life. He fills his school bag with stones and walks into a lake, intending to drown. But something stops him. The memories of Steve’s care and guidance pull him back from the edge. Steve, realizing what has happened from a goodbye letter, rushes to find Shy but falls into a pit and cannot reach him in time.
The film shows that even when Steve is physically absent, his love and care have a real effect on Shy. That connection gives Shy the will to survive. At the same time, Shy’s survival saves Steve too. If Shy had gone through with it, Steve would have been crushed with guilt, and it could have destroyed him completely. The story ends on a hopeful note. Both Steve and Shy find a reason to live, and both start moving toward a life with purpose.
