Cillian Murphy’s Steve carries the same haunted intensity as his gangster counterpart in Peaky Blinders

Oscar-winning actor Cillian Murphy debuts as a tired headteacher in his latest Netflix film titled Steve. The actor is impressively using his stardom to bring inspiring stories from independent and story-driven production companies like Big Things Films on-screen and his fans are appreciating every bit from the new movie.

Steve follows Murphy's titular character as he spends a chaotic day at Staten Wood, a special school for boys with societal and behavioural difficulties. The movie also features impressive performances from an ensemble cast including Tracey Ullman, Jay Lycurgo, Emily Watson and Simbi Ajikawo.

Cillian Murphy fans might feel like his latest Indie film character is a complete departure from the gritty gangster who gained him global success, but they are more similar than you might realize. While Steve's fictional world in Staten Wood is in stark contrast to Tommy Shelby's real-life smoke-drenched Birmingham streets in the 1920s, both are men in powerful positions, dealing with the weight of their responsibilities.

Steve and Tommy Shelby feel like two sides of the same coin

Two chaotic worlds collide

Seasoned Peaky Blinders fans might find traces of Tommy Shelby's world when Murphy's character first walks into the halls of Staten Wood in the film. We catch the headmaster on a particularly busy day. Not only are the troubled boys of the school as wild as ever, but a documentary crew is filming the students and teachers on the school's premises, adding to more chaos for the staff.

As Murphy's character walks into the halls and tackles fighting boys, distressed teachers and an eager documentary crew, you see glimpses of Tommy Shelby entering the equally chaotic back room of the Shelby house.

The Burden of Responsibility

Another similarity that binds both of Cillian Murphy's characters is their burdened responsibility. While Tommy Shelby aims for social mobility for his family, Steve aims to confront injustice in a quietly crumbling world and make it better for his troubled boys. Murphy carries this weight of responsibility and legacy quietly on his shoulders in both characters, with a kind of spiritual exhaustion that transcends genre.

Like Tommy, Murphy's latest character is a man of few words and his mere presence is enough to jolt his students out of their chaos. Unlike Tommy, Murphy's headteacher demands attention for all the right reasons and his sincere compassion allows him to break his students' hardened exterior and crawl between them.

Cillian Murphy's weapon of choice in both his impressive roles is restraint. Steve's silence holds power. Every measured breath and silence he takes in the film is calculated, particularly in that one scene where one of his students publicly humiliates a visiting MP. As the headmaster of this special school, Murphy's character acts with poise and precision, honouring the responsibility bequeathed upon him.

Shared demons of the past

The similarity also extends to the way both men are haunted by the demons of their past. As revealed by Amanda later in the film, Steve is plagued by his car accident that took a little girl's life. The stoic headmaster carries the guilt and burden of her death in his heart, much like his Peaky Blinders' counterpart, who carries war and its trenches within him throughout the series.

This unhealed wound drives every choice made by both of Cillian Murphy's characters but they react to it in completely different ways. While Tommy transforms his pain into blood and violence, Steve turns it into empathy for his boys. Each measured decision taken for his students' future is partly to undo the guilt he carries from years before.

Finally, the emotional thread that binds both of Cillian Murphy’s characters is the actor's understanding of broken masculinity. Steve and Tommy are men who lead, protect and torment within themselves but rarely heal. However, Murphy's film character finds salvation in his students at Staten Wood and his beautiful family, featured in the end. While Tommy Shelby remained a lonely figure till the end in Peaky Blinders, Steve conquered the world by reconciling with it through his family.

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