Overview

• Now streaming globally, the 90-minute drama follows a single fraught day at 1990s reform school Stanton Wood as a TV news crew visits and staff confront crises, budget cuts and an impending shutdown.
• Max Porter adapted his 2023 novella Shy for the screen and deliberately expanded the headteacher role to craft a demanding part for Murphy.
• Tim Mielants directs with handheld, documentary-style immersion by cinematographer Robert Heyvaert, with a score by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow and a new track from Simbi Ajikawo (Little Simz).
• The ensemble includes Tracey Ullman and Emily Watson, with Jay Lycurgo as Shy, who prepared by closely studying the novella.
• Following a TIFF premiere and a limited theatrical run, launch-day coverage praises Murphy’s performance and the film’s urgency, while some reviews question shifting the story’s emphasis away from Shy.