It should deal with the subject matter more.

Last year, we received “Small Things Like These,” which was a small, but quite essential Irish drama about a man who shares kindness with a a victim of the magdalene laundries. This year, we have “Steve,” which reunites director Tim Mielants and stars Cillian Murphy and Emily Watson.

This time, Murphy is the title character Steve, who is a headteacher for a reform college, Stanton Wood, which is dedicated to helping boys with societal and mental problems. And the time period is 1996, when they interview the students and staff (Tracy Ullman is one of them) through VHS cameras. But the school is closing, because the people understaffed and the trouble has continued immensely. So what about the boys?

Okay, we might be on to something here. “Steve” should focus on how teens deal with stress and depression, and whether or not help can be provided. It’s hard to make that answer clear, and I remember “The Son” making poor decisions in this very notion.

I wanted to like this movie, because of the acting and messages, but it doesn’t delve deep into the matter, and plays like a melodrama where there’s conflicts and less thinking. It’s often hard to read between their lines. Societal and mental problems are real and “Steve” wants to be as real as possible. It might be a little too much and not enough.

The main student of the film Shy (Jay Lycurgo) is so depressed that many angry phone calls to his mother has forced her to cut ties with him during his stay at the school. this young man isn’t convinced by Steve’s caring nature, and gives him the obligatory F-off. And yet, he doesn’t report Shy. He tries to tell him what he needs to hear, whether he can predict it or not (“I know what you’re going to say,” he says).

And another student Jamie (Luke Ayres) is on his final warning, as he calls Steve a “dick,” and causes trouble in the building. One of them leads to an outburst in the cafeteria, where Jamie is throwing stuff and is told to get out of the kitchen.

Watson comes in as the therapist Jenny, who tries to understand the boys. There’s one scene when Shy throws a chair down in anger, and other times when she tries to talk some sense into the other boys.

“Steve” makes guesses that the most troubled boys would be expelled or reported to the police for their explosive behaviors, as well as signs of depression which might lead to suicide whether it’s attempted or unfortunately succeeded. And it also mentions that Steve himself is a broken person who blames a tragedy on himself, when his fellow teacher Amanda (Ullman) tries to tell him otherwise. I guess she’s trying to go for that Robin Williams approach in “Good Will Hunting,” when he keeps telling Matt Damon: “It’s not your fault.”

The acting from Murphy, Ullman, and Lycurgo is great, and there are voices to be heard, but the screenplay by the same novelist Max Porter (the book’s name is “Shy”) is too shy to fully examine the characters and doesn’t delve deep. There should be more than just emotions and behaviors coming out (and there are some fighting, dancing, and playing in the rain sequences); there should also be examinations on the characters, especially the title character and the main kid.

“Small Things Like These” is a small, but great movie, and I was looking forward to “Steve” because of that. But it should also be as deep and thought provoking as that. This is a serious situation for young people, and I’m not really sure if this film wants to help them, even when it closes with the “If You Know Someone With Depression…..” PSA.

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