Tim Mielants’ Steve is a missed opportunity at emotional depth. It follows a headteacher (Cillian Murphy) at a school meant to reform teenagers with major behavioural and social issues. These are students with so many emotional and psychological concerns that they break down at the slightest provocation and revert to abusing teachers who also act as their caretakers. Society has pretty much discarded them, including their own parents. A TV channel, which is documenting Steve and his work at the reform school, unethically chooses to film the children as they indulge in errant behaviour. The anchor of the channel insinuates that the children are “rotten apples”. Steve knows that the school is their last chance at reform, but he and his colleagues are running out of time as they face a critical financial loss that threatens to close their school.
Steve has an interesting premise, with its exploration of the relationship between teachers and students. The film is commendable in its attempt to advocate for a more empathetic approach to children who struggle to fit into society. Unlike the outside world, the teachers don’t see the students as social miscreants. And they strive to bring about a change in the kids at the expense of their own health and well-being. Despite these compelling ideas, director Tim Mielants and screenwriter Max Porter’s focus on social and political commentary dilutes the film, sacrificing its potential for emotional depth.
The film could have benefited significantly from a more intimate, character-focused perspective. The film acknowledges that reformation is a time-consuming process rife with challenges, and while it delivers the message, it fails to make us really feel the journey. We hardly get to know what Steve means to these kids and vice versa, as the explanation of their dynamics remains superficial. All the scenes with the documentary crew could have been replaced with more meaningful interactions between the primary characters. Take, for instance, the moments where the documentary crew asks each of the children and crew members to describe themselves in three words. These do not add to the story except to highlight Steve’s isolation.
However, the performances redeem the film to an extent. Cillian Murphy is stirring in his depiction of a man facing his inner demons while struggling with his duty and empathy. Without relying on histrionics, the Oscar winner takes us inside the mind of this man, who is sulking and sometimes even sobbing away, as he feels the pressure of saving his school and its children mounting on him. While Murphy delivers another acting masterclass, the film’s script and execution needed a course correction.