Stephen Graham’s recent career arc reads like a masterclass in controlled intensity. After Adolescence cemented his reputation as a filmmaker, it almost feels like portraying troubled kids has become a full-time occupation. Awards followed, acclaim snowballed, and Graham, never one to retreat, kept stepping deeper into morally uncomfortable terrain. 

If there is a story about damage, responsibility, and consequence, chances are Graham is already circling it. That momentum now collides with something darker and stranger. The trailer for one such film, Heel, has just dropped, placing Graham in an unlikely role that still carries a faint echo of his recent work.

The cast of Heel is lean but formidable. Stephen Graham stars opposite Anson Boon, with Andrea Riseborough completing the trio. Boon plays Tommy, a volatile 19-year-old hooligan whose life collides violently with Graham’s Chris, an outwardly respectable man who decides vigilante reform is the answer to societal decay.

Riseborough’s Kathryn, Chris’s wife, adds a chilling composure that makes the dynamic even more unnerving. The film’s early festival reception singled out all three performances as razor-sharp and disturbingly effective.

Previously known as The Good Boy, Jan Komasa’s English-language debut first made waves on the festival circuit, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival before screening at the BFI London Film Festival. Since then, the film has undergone a notable identity shift. In the UK and Ireland, it retains its original title, The Good Boy, in cinemas on March 20. Meanwhile, US audiences will find it released as Heel by Magnolia Pictures on March 6.

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As Stephan Graham waits for inspiration to hit him for Adolescence Season 2, how different is his role in Heel from Adolescence? And, more importantly, what is Heel actually about?

The trailer of Heel signals its intentions immediately. After a night out spirals off-screen, 19-year-old Tommy awakens chained in a basement, having been abducted by Chris, a man who, together with his wife Kathryn, has decided to intervene. What they propose is not framed as punishment, but as correction. Their method is isolation, discipline, and enforced obedience, a warped attempt to instill “family values” through psychological control rather than compassion or law.

From there, the film becomes a tightly wound duel of power and perception. As Tommy appears to submit to the rules imposed upon him, the narrative deliberately destabilizes any sense of moral certainty. Is he absorbing the lessons his captors believe they are teaching or quietly studying them, learning how to survive, adapt, and ultimately regain control? Director Jan Komasa sustains this tension by refusing clear answers, blending elements of a psychological thriller.

As March approaches, one thing is clear: Stephen Graham is not done interrogating power, guilt, and control; he is only getting bolder.

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What do you make of Heel’s premise? Share your thoughts and let the debate begin.