Surprised by Oxford

I struggled to get through this movie. Reviews and critiques about literature are highly subjective so writing an entire movie around the concept is frustrating to be honest with you. I never felt the main character, Caro, ever really got there...wherever THAT is. Learning to love? Learning to trust? Who knows. She was so mired in her own issues, projecting her problems on to everyone else including the staff at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and toying with her future mate that so much was left to be desired. By the end I could have cared less if they ended up together or not. She was lucky to get him with her tantrums and expectations. I can never get back the time I put into watching this movie. The only thing that was worthy of turning this dribble on were the beautiful scenes of Oxford. Other than that, don't waste your time.

This film keeps touching on some fairly powerful possibilities but then presents them in such an allusive way that the sudden bursts of emotion or reference to strong feelings and dilemmas come a bit out of nowhere. The protagonist is a pretty unique person and has a strong back story, but her interactions with her love interest hover between predictable and unmotivated and what is apparently meant to be a spiritual crisis seems like dilettantism more than profound exploration. Never mind that her main crisis here makes no particular sense given the unanchored quality of both her romantic and her spiritual questings. Really, the best part of the film is glimpses of Oxford and the excellent older British character actors playing the dons.

I did not know anything about this film, I turned up, it had an intro by the writer of the book it's based on - Carolyn Weber, and the producer too. And I have to admit, this film is rather good. The intro goes on about it being a romance film, which it sort of is, but really goes into the lead character- Carolyn's life from a child in America and the years at Oxford, England.

Roes Reid is brilliant as Carolyn, who struggles with study, a strange romance and if she is a religious person, after meeting Kent Weber, played with proper conviction, by Ruairi O'Connor. He is a very religious person and his views and others make Carolyn, really question her life and what she really wants and what she thinks of others.

Oxford looks really nice, the direction by Ryan Whitaker is spot on, capturing the background of Oxford, along with the cast which has star turns from Simon Callow, Jordan Alexandra, Emma Naomi, a very memorable Lourdes Faberes, and the splendid Phyllis logan, who is quite changeable and starts off as very stiff, but really is a driving force too.

I give this 7.5 /10 as I was Surprised by Oxford. But I don't think I'd want to study or work there though..

This movie was... weird. It seemed to have promise with the premise of "girl finds herself abroad," but it just didn't land. It very confusingly seemed to have a religious undertone that never explained herself-did she end up believing in God? We never found out even though the majority of the movie seemed to lead to the possibility. The main character was simply NOT likable, not nice, not interesting and her outfits were so boring. I also found the constant debating of what classic writers meant very aggravating. They didn't sound smart, they sounded full of themselves. The guy was likable and I honestly just wanted him to meet someone else.

I did not know anything about the film or the book - friends invited me.

Absorbing film about an American grad student's intellectual, emotional, philosophical and spiritual maturation and change while at Oxford.

Great Oxford scene-scape, engaging leads Rose Reid and Ruari O'Connor and wonderful to see British actors such as Phyllis Logan, Simon Callow and Ed Stoppard in supporting roles.

I think the film could have benefited from additional short scenes marveling the beauty of Anglican churches, choir music as well as moments of introspection by Carolyn.

Apparently the film has been categorized as a Christian film but we did not feel that it was very religious - actually the film raises universal themes of community, connection and purpose.

We are regular movie-goers - and baffled that there was no publicity for this film and that it apparently was only screened for two days. Surprised by Oxford deserves a regular theatrical run and more/more targeted publicity.