Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Big Things Films
Not part of a collection.
A quiet storm of emotion.
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.
CinemaSerf
Sep 10, 2025 · via TMDB
Though Cillian Murphy takes top billing and turns in a visceral effort in the title role, this is really a formidable ensemble effort as he leads a small group to teachers in what seems to be a constant rearguard action with some of the most unruly teenagers you’ll ever see. Helped out by his deputy “Amanda” (Tracey Ullman) and self-medicating regularly, he has the added pressure of a local BBC television crew coming to do a piece on the place; the local MP is also coming to get in on that action and the local council are also along this day to tell them all that the school’s future - at around £30k p.a. per pupil, is making the whole enterprise increasingly unfeasible. Our first glimpse of the residents sees us meet “Shy” (Jay Lycurgo) who is dancing about in a field slowly getting ”baked” at 10am! Then there’s “Jamie” (Luke Ayres). Larger than life in every sense and sharp enough to wind up just about everyone else; “Riley” (Joshua J. Parker) is akin to the Duracell Bunny only at ten times the speed. “Shola” (Little Simz) is the newbie teacher and Emily Watson’s “Jenny” tries to fathom out the psychology of their erratic behaviour. They are all foul-mouthed, violent and obnoxious, sure - but they are all also bright; they fight and brawl but there is loyalty amongst them, affection even. Each character gets their moment under the spotlight, but essentially we focus on “Steve” - a man who has demons of his own and on “Shy” whose behaviour has left his mum and stepfather to cut all ties with the lad. You get the sense that both men are in a very similar boat, only one of them wears a tie and the other some orange-foam headphones - and both deliver emotionally-charged performances. Ullman is strong and sympathetic in support to just about everyone and there is a unifying cameo from Roger Allam who plays the typically pompous and condescending MP “Montague-Powell” (pronounced “Pole”) who, like all but those who actually lived in this rapidly dilapidating stately pile, had little idea of just what went on here, and of just how crucial this infrastructure was in offering a semblance of hope, security and consistency to young men who’s lucidity ebbed and flowed as readily as the tides we see so often on the poster on the wall. The last few minutes remind us, powerfully, that these staff are professional people who must try to balance the demands of their careers with those of their personal lives, and the clever use of a tape recorder to serve as an aide-memoir to “Steve” has a double benefit of also helping the audience to appreciate just how stressful all of their lives were. No matter just how futile their efforts frequently appeared to be, these were not people inclined to give up - regardless of the sacrifices they would routinely and repeatedly have to make. The kids? Well the acting on display here is natural, entertaining, chilling and acrobatic all whilst offering us a sense of their vulnerability, their loneliness and their inter-dependence - for all their bravado and practical jokes. It’s a breakneck piece of cinema that serves to make us realise that there can be no price put on their vocational skills nor on the provision of “care” for these people whom society at large would doubtless consider a threat and who would almost certainly incarcerate them. It’s a very tricky subject to get across with integrity, but I think this does make you sit up and think - and laugh occasionally, too.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Cillian Murphy
Steve
Tracey Ullman
Amanda
Jay Lycurgo
Shy
Little Simz
Shola
Douggie McMeekin
Andy
Youssef Kerkour
Owen
Roger Allam
Sir Hugh Montague Powell
Emily Watson
Jenny
Archie Fisher
Posh Cal
Araloyin Oshunremi
Benny
Marcus Garvey
Geoff
Priyanga Burford
Kamila
Tom Moya
Paul
George Fouracres
Angus
Tut Nyuot
Tyrone
Amy Cudden
Claire
Ben Lloyd-Hughes
Julian
Ruby Ashbourne Serkis
Charlotte
Shelley Longworth
Sarah
Charlie Beaven
Henry Havery
Tilly Walker
Claire
Lois Haidar
Holly
Robrecht Heyvaert
Director of Photography
Tim Mielants
Director
Robert Sterne
Casting
Charlotte Fenton
Location Assistant
Alan Moloney
Producer
Cillian Murphy
Producer
Ben Salisbury
Original Music Composer
Geoff Barrow
Original Music Composer
Sternenhoch
The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us!
Herstory
The Green Mile
Forrest Gump
GoodFellas
Fight Club
Ghetto-Kids
Apocalypse Now
Full Metal Jacket
Anne of Green Gables
Metropolis
Das Boot
After the Quake
The Iron Giant
Blade Runner
Freedom Writers
A Beautiful Mind
Dances with Wolves
Anatomy of a Murder
Kokuho
Mystic River
A Moon in the Ordinary
Fried Green Tomatoes
Eat Drink Man Woman
Threads
Leave Her to Heaven
Miramar
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Devil Wears Prada
The Hurricane
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Global Fan Screening
The Experiment
Through My Window
Hamlet
The Letter
Bicentennial Man
Battle Royale
The Piano Teacher
Mean Girls
The Poseidon Adventure
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Queen Margot
Shoot the Piano Player
The Player
BlackBerry
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Murder at the Gallop
Fahrenheit 451
Grave Decisions
This Is I
The Cider House Rules
Pirates of Silicon Valley
The Age of Innocence
The Dimension Travelers
White Gate
Hazel's People
Children of a Lesser God
The Story of Adèle H.
Lola
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Lost and Delirious
The Shoes of the Fisherman
A Tale of Two Cities
Leave No Trace
The Ultimate Actor
Bonjour Tristesse
Jakob the Liar
Mansfield Park
The Tricycle
Jarhead
Veronica Guerin
To Die For
Parachute
Beautiful Disaster
Because of Winn-Dixie
Advantages of Travelling by Train
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
To End All Wars
My Dad and Mr. Ito
For Love of the Game
Sleepless
24 Hours
No Escape
Shall We Kiss?
Three Friends
Devil's Knot
The Rules of Attraction
Factotum
Silvery Wind
The Door in the Floor
The Actor
Apostasy
September Sky
Bettys
Two Queens and One Consort
All the King's Men
Jonathan
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
The Moment
As I Lay Dying
Three Lives
White Flags
Child of God
Dying
Šílený kankán
Dáma s barzojem
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Sjezd abiturientů
Útěk do Budína
Roky v kruhu – Jaro
Úspěch
Poslední rok
Cover Up
A Poem in Love
Death Has No Master
Luiz
Voracious
The Hate U Give
Freedom Writers
The Ron Clark Story
Lean On Me
Lolita
Bastard Out of Carolina
The Lost Bus
Elephant
if....
Dangerous Minds
Confirmation
Iron Jawed Angels
Bad Education
Light It Up
A Dry White Season
Not Without Hope
One Eight Seven
Cracks
Brave the Dark
Hands of Stone
Apt Pupil
Oslo
The Principal
Dear Zoe
Class of 1984
Cheaters
Waterland
Disgrace
Sep 19, 2025
Oct 3, 2025
Netflix
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
FISFiC Vol. 1
2011
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs
2015
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
FISFiC Vol. 1
2011
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs
2015
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.