If not taken too seriously, Netflix’s new movie My Oxford Year is a surprisingly good time, despite its cliché storyline. The rom-com, starring Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest, has many amusing moments and some fun performances.
The plot is relatively simple: Anna, a girl from New York City, comes to Oxford University for a one-year Master’s degree. After an awkward run-in with a rude British man, she soon discovers he’s her new seminar teacher, Jamie. After some flirty classes and a drunken night in a pub, they begin dating, but Jamie has a secret that threatens to derail their love… So far, so familiar.
In spite of its formulaic plot, the movie is genuinely fun to watch. It’s pretty humorous, likely thanks to director Iain Morris, best known for co-creating The Inbetweeners. The comedic relief is delivered through short quips: for example, when Anna storms off mid-episode of Naked Attraction to submit an assignment and her friend deadpans: “My God, she’s keen. She’s left before they revealed the penises.” There are also many instances of situational humour, like when Anna tries to make Jamie jealous at a Halloween party by dancing provocatively with a posh rower, while the latter is just having the time of his life dancing, utterly oblivious to her plan. Moreover, the movie manages to draw the viewer in with some great performances. Dougray Scott, in his role as Jamie’s father, is a standout. His depiction of grief and anger is thoroughly moving. Finally, the movie’s soundtrack is likely to appeal to a modern audience, featuring artists like Chappell Roan and Troye Sivan.
That said, a few changes could have significantly improved the movie. First, less poetry. Or, let’s be honest, no poetry at all. Since Jamie is Anna’s poetry teacher, the viewer is constantly subjected to cringy scenes of them reciting poems to each other. This adds nothing to the plot, comes across as incredibly pretentious, and is just painful to watch.
Second, the film would have benefited from a different lead actress. Sofia Carson, who is best known for her Disney roles (most notably Descendants), delivers an incredibly bland performance. Whether it was the direction or a personal choice, her acting consists almost exclusively of making flirty eyes at everyone and talking in a ‘seductive’ tone. This boring performance is worsened by the fact that Anna has no discernible personality – other than being an American, of course.
Finally, the film could have done without the romanticisation of student-teacher relationships. Rather than exploring the complex dynamics and power inequalities in-depth, it comes across like a cheap attempt to introduce scandal into the story.
Nevertheless, as an Oxford student, the film provides a special kind of entertainment because it allows for a game of Spot the Difference. Even though the people involved in writing My Oxford Year definitely had some insight into Oxford student life – for example, perfectly depicting the specific geekiness of a certain type of male student that might use “I can teach you to unicycle” as a pick-up line – multiple small details are wrong. The movie includes many famous Oxford locations, from the Pitt Rivers Museum to Turf Tavern and several different colleges. However, keen-eyed viewers will easily notice incoherences: misaligned locations, the characters walking in the wrong direction, and roads that are missing the familiar crowds of tourists. Lanyards are too short, Oxford wins the boat race against Cambridge, and the characters go to a Greek van called ‘Dimitri’s’ rather than Hassan’s or Najar’s for a late-night snack.
The most peculiar detail of the movie is its depiction of what it’s like being an American student at Oxford. They keep mentioning her nationality as if it were something exotic and unheard of. However, with around 8% of the total student body coming from the US, that just doesn’t reflect the actual experience.
So, is My Oxford Year a masterpiece? Absolutely not. But if you have a relatively high cringe tolerance and a fun group of friends to watch it with, you’re in for a great time.
