Stanton Wood Faces Closure
Cillian Murphy delivers an immersive portrayal of dark-flecked intensity as Steve, the harried head teacher of a government-funded English reform school enduring a day from hell, slashfilm.com reported.
Operating inside a crumbling manor house, Stanton Wood sits on the verge of closure due to funding cuts.
The mid-90s-set film follows Steve as he tries to keep the beleaguered institute afloat while managing troubled youths. One student, Shy, describes himself as angry and bored, struggling with a self-destructive streak despite a sensitive disposition.
Pressure Mounts on Netflix
A documentary crew arrives at Stanton Wood on this particularly challenging day to chronicle the school’s plight. Murphy’s educator experiences a mental health decline in real time as the weight of his responsibilities overwhelms him.
Privately battling addiction and lingering pain from past experiences, Steve finds himself on the verge of giving up on the one thing that gives his life purpose. The resulting film emerged as one of the best streaming movies of 2025.
Steve Debuted at Festivals Before Arriving on Netflix
Steve debuted at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival before receiving a limited theatrical run in the United Kingdom and United States in September of that year. In October 2025, the film made its Netflix debut, by which time it had racked up a 77% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, according to slashfilm.com.
Critics held sharply contrasting views on the project. David Fear of Rolling Stone called the feature slapdash and klutzy, writing, It’s handled in such a slapdash, klutzy manner, and feels so cut-rate, that you may find yourself raging alongside the movie’s youngsters.
Reviewers Praised the Emotional Weight and Murphy's Performance
Other reviewers praised the emotional weight of the drama. John Anderson of the Wall Street Journal wrote, If one isn’t moved, one should check one’s pulse.
The Observer’s Wendy Ide offered similar praise, noting, Steve is gripping and exhausting, sharing common themes with Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12 and Nora Fingscheidt’s electrifying System Crasher. But this film — and Murphy’s devastating performance — exist in a class of their own.
Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times conceded that the sentimental formula felt familiar. He admitted, however, that Murphy delivered another immersive portrayal in a film that captures the electric hum of unpredictability and vulnerability.
