Shadows on the Wall

Steve

dir Tim Mielants
scr Max Porter
prd Alan Moloney, Cillian Murphy
with Cillian Murphy, Tracey Ullman, Jay Lycurgo, Emily Watson, Simbi Ajikawo, Roger Allam, Joshua Barry, Douggie McMeekin, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Youssef Kerkour, Archie Fisher, Marcus Garvey
release US/UK 19.Sep.25
25/Ireland Netflix 1h33

TORONTO FILM FEST

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Adapting his novella Shy, author Max Porter changes the title to shift the focus to another character, and director Tim Mielants crafts it as an unusually visceral reform school drama. This is an ambitiously inventive film that takes very big swings as it propels the audience into the mindset of both teachers and students who are feeling the pressure. Thankfully, there's some strong humour accompanying the big emotions.

In 1996 England, boarding school headmaster Steve (Murphy) juggles issues from all sides, including boisterous teen boys who never stop misbehaving. But he sees their potential, and has inspired his deputy head Amanda (Ullman), counsellor Jenny (Watson) and new teacher Shola (Ajikawo). On this particular day, a TV crew is documenting the school, a board member (Lloyd-Hughes) visits with bad news, and an MP (Allam) turns up to grandstand. Addled by alcohol and drugs, Steve is too wired to cope with this. And no one notices what smart, thoughtful student Shy (Lycurgo) is going through.

All of this is assembled as a barrage of continually moving pieces, as an astonishing number of things pile on top of Steve and Shy, who are grappling with very different issues. Steve is facing the school's potential closure, and the knowledge that no one else will bother to care for these rambunctious, disruptive kids. And Shy hasn't told anyone that he has been firmly rejected by his mother, leaving him without an anchor when he needs one.

Over the course of this momentous day, several characters come into vivid focus, and never in simplistic ways. The common thread is that these are flawed people trying to help each other in their own ways. Murphy goes deep, revealing both light and dark aspects of the likeably charismatic Steve's soul. We never doubt that he cares for these teens. Ullman, Watson and Ajikawo have similar complexity as frazzled adults who see what the stakes are here. Meanwhile, Lycurgo is magnetic as Shy, whose private journey is wrenching.

Watching this is an unusually immersive experience, as the generally chaotic atmosphere continually reveals telling details and ideas that provoke us to consider the situation through new perspectives. Robrecht Heyvaert's cinematography, Danielle Palmer's editing and terrific musical beats combine to throw us in at the deep end, with sequences that are visually dazzling in the way they break through into more surreal expressions of what's happening. So where the story goes is profoundly haunting.

themes, language, violence 16.Sep.25

R E A D E R R E V I E W S

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