In recent years, fictional documentaries often come to the small screen in the form of comedies, giving us lighthearted mockumentaries and silly but worthwhile escapism. Tim Mielants’ Steve is the sheer opposite of escapism. It’s heavy and profoundly heartbreaking, but it’s a compelling showcase of underfunded reform schools, the kids who need far more than they’re given, and the teachers who look out for them. It brings forth another brilliant performance from Cillian Murphy, which isn’t at all surprising at this point, but it’s still always a tremendous gift to witness.
Films like Steve follow patterns we’ve seen before, but it holds more heartbreak than its predecessors. We don’t get a yearly holiday rewatch in this one like we do with The Holdovers. Instead, we get a darkness to sit with and a pain that’s crushing at the end. It’s not a film to walk into when the viewer’s headspace is already murky, but it’s one worth watching for the reminder of what we can do in a world where there are kids people give up on.
One man simply doesn’t have all the power, no matter how willing he is to show up. And as we see through the titular character’s struggles, even those who are put in charge of lending a helping hand are in need of someone to pull them out of the water. Steve’s debilitating mental health and alcoholism are his own crutch, bringing down the character in a time when perhaps the students need him more than ever.
The humanity in which the film explores these difficult topics is where the narrative works best, as it never points fingers, even as those outside of the school do. And yes, there are moments by the end where confrontations occur and words aren’t particularly kind, but there’s still a goodness tethered to the story’s heart that makes it hopeful at the end.
We get to know most of the students at the school, but none more closely than Jay Lycurgo’s Shy, making the end result even more compelling by virtue of the information we get throughout the hour and a half runtime. The ending, in large part, is up for debate as far as how and why Shy’s life is saved, and what we get effectively illustrates that no one should ever give up on another human.
There’s much to take away from Steve, but what I can’t stop thinking about is: How do we fight for other people who are more vulnerable than we are when we can’t even fight for ourselves fully? You show up. We show up. Sometimes, the only form of power a single person has is their ability to show up. Sit beside someone who’s broken and be there. We won’t always have all the answers, but sometimes, the only answer that another person needs is the reassurance that someone cares what happens to them. We can’t make someone change their ways by forcing them, but continuing to show up can be the exact glimmer of hope they need to make those changes themselves.
Through achingly vulnerable performances from the whole cast, a thoroughly honest screenplay, and a captivatingly raw directorial approach, Steve becomes an engrossing must-watch.
Steve is now streaming on Netflix.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Robert Viglasky/Netflix