Another day, another Sofia Carson Netflix movie. I was optimistic going into this mainly because of Corey Mylchreest, who absolutely broke my heart in the Bridgerton spin-off series Queen Charlotte. If there’s ever a man to make a Netflix romance movie work, it’s Mylchreest. While there were moments I enjoyed, what I couldn’t overcome was the lack of chemistry between Carson and Mylchreest. You need more than just two beautiful people on screen to make a romance work, and unfortunately My Oxford Year falls short due to the lack of authenticity in the central relationship.
Carson plays Anna, a type A planner who has her whole life mapped out. The only thing she’s gifted to herself is a year at Oxford, where she will spend her days touring the UK and studying poetry. After her year’s up, she’ll return home to a job at Goldman Sachs. Mylchreest’s Jamie is her professor, and while their initial meeting wasn’t the best – he drenched her with his car – they connect through their mutual love of poetry. Listen, as a Literature major myself, I think I possess the authority to speak on all this lovey dovey poetic moments the two share, and to assert how absolutely contrived these moments feel. They’re quoting lines from a Matthew Arnold poem from memory, their hands almost touching as they linger on a page – give me a break. Set pieces like this are envisioned by writers who obviously love Literature and poetry very much, but who didn’t really consider how people actually converse about such things. If you want a better representation of what it means to truly talk about art and life, the Before Sunrise series is a fantastic depiction of this.
There’s spark, attraction, they’re two beautiful people, so of course they begin a love affair. But Jamie is ardent that he wants thing to be light and fun. After all, Anna’s time in the UK is finite, so the relationship already comes tagged with an expiration date. We all think it’s because he’s this playboy with commitment issues, but the reality is something very different, so be warned if you’re going into this movie expecting a lighthearted rom-com.
The main problem is lack of chemistry and connection between Carson and Mylchreest, and this is due to Carson’s inability to let go and really let herself become the character. She always looks so beautifully coiffed and put together, even when she’s exclaiming about how she wants the mess because those are the best parts of life. Mylchreest is trying his best and at times I can feel a whisper of something, like when the pair explore the Bodleian Library, but it fades so quickly into the wind that it feels like I imagined the whispered spark.
The best parts of the movie are actually Jamie’s scenes with his father William (played by the incomparable Dougray Scott) – that’s where the pathos resides. I felt his despair and heartbreak, and this relationship actually brings across the complexity of dealing with loss. Loss is an unavoidable part of life; it’s something we all have to reckon with for as long as we live. But the journey towards acceptance is long and arduous. How do you let go off someone you’ve loved so desperately, sometimes even more than yourself?
I won’t lie and say I didn’t cry, because of course I did – I’m only human after all – but the tears were for a hollow cause. My Oxford Year lacks the substance to tear its way into our soul and make a home. There isn’t enough there narratively to haunt us, and all you’ll want to do is seek out tearjerkers that do satisfy.
REVIEW SCORE: 2/5
