Surprised by Oxford

This is the worst movie I've seen in years. The only positive aspect is the setting and cinematography.

Girl goes to Oxford; pretentious people talk about literature to impress one another; girl flip-flops between b*tch and wallflower yet somehow everyone adores her. Despite no romance or chemistry, she wakes up one random day hopelessly in love with the man she's shunned for a year.

There. Now that you've read my summary, there's no need to watch the movie because the film offers no further character development, insight into humanity, nor entertainment. Whatever philosophical or theological discussions the book might contain have not been well represented on film.

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 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.

This movie is based on a memoire of her life by Caro Weber who was born in the 1970s, so being a college age student the story would have taken place in the 1990s. The main character in this movie is Caro Drake. Some of it was filmed in Nashville but most of it in Oxford, England.

Caro is a very serious student who always seems to be more prepared than the other students, even in middle school. When philosophical concepts arise in the classroom she is never shy to challenge the teacher. When she is graduating she is surprised with a full-ride scholarship to Oxford, she plans to get her PhD in Early English Literature.

She quickly encounters an American student there (played well by an Irish actor) and he takes a keen interest in her. She is different from the other female students, her efforts to get rid of his attention only seems to energize him more.

Not a lot happens in this movie, the more interesting scenes are philosophical exchanges, some with other students, some with professors or administrators. All the while Caro is trying to sort ot her confusion about what is really important in life. There is a mild faith element but it isn't pushed, mainly to put your faith forward, believe in things, figure out what your life is about.

My wife and I watched it at home, streaming. We enjoyed it but it is not a candidate for a re-watch.