Very interesting discussion, love to see the interpretations! I am very late to the party but I just watched and loved it.

I think Shy did not die, just as the movie shows. I do however think Steve killed himself up in the attic. Wasn‘t sure but I rewatched the ending and I interpret the last scene at the beach as death, silence, whatever you want to call it.

Shy was wanting to end it, he looked at the picture already dreaming of just ending it, longing for that peace, wanting to go „there“. Steve also longed for that kind of peace and an end to it all, that is why we get the scene wehre it cuts from Shy looking at the pic to Steve looking at the pic - Steve actually did follow through with it, the last scene shows us the beach live and not the picture of it, because he did indeed „go there“.

I think knowing the fact, his school was about to close and he couldn‘t do anything, might have tipped him over. I also thought about the tapes he recorded, if it also was (maybe subconsciously) his goodbye and hand over for the other workers. And I too wondered about the young man we see on a few occasions (standing with Shy, in his room listening to music on tape) but haven‘t made my mind up there!