by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
2024’s Small Things Like Thesewas my underseen gem of the year. Cillian Murphy gave one of my favorite performances, and when I saw that he and director Tim Mielants were re-teaming, it immediately got my attention.
Steve follows 24 hours in the life of the titular head teacher (Murphy) of a mid-‘90s reform school as things on a lot of different fronts come to a head, from student behavioral issues, Steve’s mental health hanging on by a string, a documentary/news crew being on site, and visits from the school’s owners and the local parliamentary representative.
First and foremost, I love this creative partnership. There’s a real depth to the projects Mielants chooses to direct. A lot is going on with the school at the heart of this narrative. It is the last refuge for young men who are truly troubled and have serious issues — always bubbling, not even really much below the surface. It’s a challenging endeavor that’s not cheap, and not something people with the resources are going to be easily convinced to fund. Steve doesn’t have much respect for the proprietors of the school, the politicians just looking to get face time with the cameras on site, or the film crew, none of whom seem very interested in what the mission of the school actually is. As the only one of the three parties that get extended screen time, the news crew is interesting, not only as a framing device, but also in what they are trying to do. It’s obvious through the one-on-ones sprinkled throughout out, as well as their other scenes, they’re not really interested in having deep conversation or digging into the complexities of the school. They’re just looking for an “If it bleeds, it leads” type of story that they can play off the controversy of. They’re just as interested as exploiting the school for their own gains as the press-hungry MP.
It’s clear that the only people who give any ounce of care about the boys are the skeleton crew manning the school, themselves on edge being overworked and overstressed because of the other factors. As the head teacher who truly cares about the kids and how to help them, Steve has his life complicated by the crazy day and demons of his own he’s forcing down, which the pressures of the day bring exploding out of him. He’s part teacher, part therapist, all while trying to keep a lid on his own mental health. He’s so good at portraying both the times when he’s trying to hold things together, and when he’s losing his grip. It’s another tour de force performance from Murphy.
Rounding out the rest of the supporting cast, Tracey Ullman is great as the deputy head of the school — Steve’s right-hand who cares as much about their mission as he does — and their partnership really shines. Emily Watson pulls a 180 from her performance in Small Things Like These, in which she is terrifying, as a therapist whose visits seek to boost the work the school is doing. Little Simz is also solid as the newcomer to the challenging school’s staff. As far as the students go, they’re all great. They each get their moments where they get to show they’re more than just the troubled kids it would be easy to write them off as. But the standout is Shy (Jay Lycurgo of Titans fame), who seems to have a special connection with Steve. However, the film goes to great lengths to show that he cares about each one of his students, which is hammered home in its final moments.
The pacing is absolutely intense — there’s always another crisis around the corner. Then you add all of the other outside forces coming, and there’s a lot of plates to spin, and it’s handled pretty deftly. There are a couple camera trick moments in the last final third that sort of took me out of things. The film gets a little more creative with how it’s shot, taking a break from the breakneck pace. While I understand why the creative decision was made to shift the style, it does more harm than good.
While Steve may not have hooked me from start to finish like Murphy and Mielants’ previous teamup, it’s still got complexity packed into 90 minutes which other films struggle to fit into twice the length.
This is a duo I am in on checking out whatever they do, no matter what, because I know it’s going to be told competently, explored deeply, and acted expertly.
Rating: Liked It
Steve is currently streaming on Netflix
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Bluesky and Letterboxd