Cillian Murphy is an established actor in the film industry, but he recently revealed that he had some doubts about taking on his latest project for Netflix.
Known for delivering stellar performances on the big screen, Murphy’s newest venture will be available on the streaming platform in just a few days.
The film, titled Steve, is set to premiere on Netflix on October 3, and it has already garnered praise from critics, boasting a respectable Tomatometer score of 78 percent.
This drama is based on Max Porter’s book Shy, which narrates the tale of a troubled teenager who flees from a home for ‘very disturbed young men’ over the course of one night.
Originally released in 2023, the film offers a different viewpoint from the book.
Set in the 1990s, the film features the Irish actor as a headteacher named Steve, who is striving to keep a British college operational.
Steve faces the challenges posed by his unruly students, while also dealing with his own mental health struggles.
Despite these elements, both the book’s author, who contributed to the film’s screenplay, and Murphy initially believed that Shy would be difficult to adapt.
In reality, Murphy and Porter share a friendship and have previously worked together, but Porter confessed that he was skeptical about the adaptation’s feasibility due to the book’s focus on a student character named Shy.
Porter stated: “I felt it was unadaptable because of it being a kind of weather system in Shy’s head. Also, I was a bit worried about all my content being wrung out for adaptation.”
Murphy also expressed his concerns about the adaptation process.
In an interview with The Guardian, Murphy noted: “While I adore Shy as a piece of literature. I recognized that it was unadaptable.”
He mentioned that Porter was instrumental in persuading him to take on the challenge and bring the character Steve from the book into the spotlight.
The Guardian has also praised the upcoming film, recommending it to viewers.
The review states: “The result [of the film] is a virtuosic piece of expressionistic storytelling set in a last-chance remand school in the 1990s, where overworked and underpaid staff struggle to nurture boys written off by society.
“It is simultaneously a cry of rage about a dysfunctional system, cut beyond the bone by a previous era of axe-wielding Tories, and a demonstration of why teenagers like Shy are worth saving, despite their often monstrous behavior.”
The film will be available for streaming on Netflix starting October 3.