The movie follows Colin Firth’s Steve who’s the enigmatic downstairs neighbor of Keira Knightly and Tom Mison (their names are undisclosed and they’re simply referred to as ‘Man’ and ‘Woman’) characters. He lives in an apartment that oddly resembles a basement (unless it really is a basement) and keeps to himself. But once his path crosses with Man and Woman, he finds that he can’t quite keep to himself any more. He grows impatient, attached, and frankly, more and more unnerving as a character with each visit to his upstairs neighbors. While some of his visits and casual suggestions actually help Man and Woman’s insipid relationship, his visit in the 17th minute of this movie is the one that’ll leave viewers reeling.
This short benefits from some hard-hitting dialogue, especially all the monologues that Colin Firth gets to mouth here. And of course, from everything that Colin Firth does. From Steve’s subtle reactions to the blasting music from upstairs (which both irks him and also makes him want to break out of his shell and dance), to his penchant for looking like a cuddly live version of Paddington Bear but acting like he’s one step away from turning into Brit Arthur Fleck in this, Firth does complete justice to this role, going through a range of so many emotions in the brief period of 17 minutes.
Tom Mison is fine, but his character has the least to do. Keira’s character goes from ‘angry all the time’ to ‘annoying all the time’—and I don’t know if it’s because the character is written that way or because Keira plays her in this way. She never grows on you and just seems like an angstier version of every other Keira Knightly character. As you guessed, I’m not a big fan of Keira because she’s mostly an unconvincing actress for me to really get hooked on to or be impressed by, but I’ll give her brownie points for her spot-on Scottish accent here.
The chaotic and jarring soundtrack is apt for what unfolds onscreen, and I loved the choice of song for the opening scene—which acts as a complete contrast for Steve’s moody and lonely demeanor, which was enough to give viewers a brief window into his psyche. I also loved the innovative opening credits, and the visuals were refreshing and pleasing despite the unnerving situations that our characters find themselves in.
All in all, “Steve” is a short but definitely not sweet watch. And if you haven’t put the kettle on for a cup of tea placed a plate of biscuits out for your neighbors, DO IT NOW!!
