Netflix releases Steve trailer with Murphy as reform-school principal

Netflix has released the official trailer for Steve, a drama set in the mid-1990s and led by Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy. The film, a reimagining of Max Porter's novel Shy, centers on a headteacher and his last-chance reform school as it confronts imminent closure while grappling with the headteacher’s own mental health. Parallel to Steve’s struggles, the story follows Shy, a troubled teen whose fragility and impulses for self-destruction intersect with the day’s pressures on the institution and its staff.

Directed by Tim Mielants, Steve marks a collaboration between a filmmaker known for intimate, character-driven storytelling and Porter, who adapted his own bestseller for the screen. Murphy acts as both star and producer, alongside Alan Moloney and Tina Pawlik, with Porter serving as an executive producer. The cast also features Tracey Ullman, Emily Watson, Simbi Ajikawo (Little Simz), Douggie McMeekin, Youssef Kerkour, and Jay Lycurgo in the role of Shy. The film’s score is by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow, underscoring a narrative that aims to be grounded and emotionally precise.

The trailer presents a day in which Steve is described in three words—“very, very tired”—before...