It does look like audiences are in the mood for some melancholy. In Bollywood, Saiyaara is making young people weep over their popcorn. On Netflix, My Oxford Year is gaining eyeballs.
New Yorker Anna (Sofia Carson), comes from working class, immigrant roots, and has worked hard to excel in education. She has an enviable finance job waiting with a top firm, when she decides to fulfill a dream of studying literature at Oxford. She has signed up to learn about Victorian poetry, and also discover the English way of life, which is very different from America.
After having a run-in with a handsome man in a vintage car, who splashes with puddle water, she finds that he is her professor, Jamie Davenport (Corey Mylchreest)—rich, smart and flirtatious. Anna resists his charm for a while, and there is a funny clash of cultures and personalities, with sharp, sarcastic banter, and they are soon attracted to each other.
They decide that their dates will be fun– though in reality a professor could not have an affair with a student—but they find they hit it off; there is the love of literature to cement their friendship. Anna discovers the English pub, the college boat race, fish and chips and street food, while immersing herself into Oxford life with Jamie and the other friends she makes.
One of Jamie’s female friends, tries to warn Anna to stay away from him, but she is in his thrall. She understands, soon, who he won’t commit, and why he is estranged from his aristocratic parents, who live in a magnificent, historical castle.
The romance takes place against the beauty of Oxford, from the awe-inspiring architecture to the quirky traditions. But like the all time favourite weepie, Love Story (1970), there is tragedy waiting to trip up the young lovers.
The plot is predictable and clichéd, but the location and the good-looking lead pair makes it worth a watch. Melodrama is kept to a minimum, despite the perfect relationship hurtling towards doom. Based on Julia Whelan’s bestselling novel, the film keeps its tone light while also giving the characters some degree of emotional depth. Jamie’s father (played by Dougray Scott) is a particularly sympathetic character.
Simple love stories are almost out of fashion in this age of dating apps and hook-ups, which is probably why My Oxford Year is on the top of the list of popular films on the streaming platform.
- Directed by: Iain Morris
- Cast: Sophia Carson, Coret Mylchreest,
- On Netflix
