\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSeconds after the opening credits of \u201cMy Oxford Year\u201d have discreetly scrolled across the screen, our happy heroine strolls the streets surrounding the titular British institution and is haphazardly doused by a massive puddle thanks to a vintage vehicle driven by her soon-to-be paramour. This klutzy comedic moment endemic to the rom-com genre unfortunately doubles as a fitting metaphor for the viewing audience, as the ensuing shenanigans make us feel pelted by that same gutter water time and time again. What should be a tender, feminist-minded story centered on a young woman rediscovering her dormant childhood dreamer turns into a middling melodrama about being with a cute guy in desperate need of her rescue.<\/p>\n
\n\tAnna de la Vega (Sofia Carson) has been fantasizing about attending Oxford University since she was 10 years old, cracking open a dusty old book of poetry for the first time. Even before her face appears on camera and the narration reiterates what\u2019s already been shown, it\u2019s clear that this Type A personality has built her entire world around this milestone adventure (reinforced by meticulously curated context clues, which include dog-eared copies of Austen, Fitzgerald and Bront\u00eb\u2019s works, as well as a diploma from Cornell and other framed honors). Anna\u2019s plan is to defer her post-graduate financial analyst gig at Goldman Sachs for a year to study Victorian poetry under the tutelage of her personal hero Professor Styan (Barunka O\u2019Shaughnessy) and then return to the States to make her mom (Romina Cocca) and dad (Yadier Fern\u00e1ndez) proud by getting a job in finance.<\/p>\n
\n\tHowever, Anna\u2019s plans are quickly dashed upon meeting hunky, wealthy local playboy Jamie Davenport (Corey Mylchreest). Their chance, embarrassingly adorkable meet-cute in a fish-and-chips shop leads to fate pushing them together again in the classroom when Jamie takes over teaching duties on the first day. Flirtatious hijinks ensue, such as singing pub karaoke, eating at a kebab food truck and playing unhealthy jealousy games involving leggy redhead Cecelia Knowles (Poppy Gilbert) and oblivious dweeb Ridley (Hugh Coles). They inevitably give in to their lustful feelings. But when the pair begin to realize their casual love affair is far more meaningful than a fling, complications and hard, hidden truths bubble to the surface that affect both of their futures.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe execution by director Iain Morris (\u201cThe Inbetweeners\u201d) and writers Allison Burnett and Melissa Osborne (adapting Julia Whelan\u2019s novel) is subpar, both in their character construction and narrative twists and turns. Unless it\u2019s blatantly stated, we rarely get the sense Anna values practicality and financial success over indulging her romantic whimsy. All we see is her swooning over sentimentality. It\u2019s not far-fetched to wonder how she compartmentalizes pragmatism and passion, allowing her ambitious drive to take a back seat to love. The filmmakers had ample opportunity to establish and better integrate Anna\u2019s inner push-pull as a first-generation American daughter of immigrants, searching for a balance between her heart\u2019s desires and her parents\u2019 wishes for success, yet they falter. Instead, they handwave that aspect.<\/p>\n
\n\tRather than exploring Anna\u2019s complex conundrums after she acclimates to her new digs (with lame fish-out-of-water gags galore) and starts sleeping with Jamie, they allow his conflicts to take over the film, eclipsing her struggles and dwarfing her significance in her quest. His familial strife dealing with his disapproving father William (Dougray Scott) and denial-riddled mother Antonia (Catherine McCormack) is given priority around the midpoint and doesn\u2019t let up until the finale. There\u2019s a predictable outcome as well, made worse by contrivances where circumstances are problems until they\u2019re magically not, lacking satisfying emotional resolution. Anna puts herself in a subordinate role as a tool used to mend Jamie\u2019s family\u2019s fissures, allowing him to experience a greater arc than her own.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile its story holds much to be desired, the film\u2019s technical craftsmanship earns higher marks. Pacing picks up in tangible energy and vibrancy within editors Victoria Boydell and Kristina Hetherington\u2019s montages. The upbeat effervescence of Anna and Jamie\u2019s trysts are endearingly bubbly in their hands. With its punch of Isabella Summers\u2019 swelling, swirling score and a flurry of sharp cuts, toggling between fantasy and reality, their final montage\u2019s end note is surprisingly effective, radiating beyond the end credits. Cinematographer Remi Adefarasin\u2019s diffuse lighting during enchanting sequences brings a soft warmth, though the film\u2019s overall flat, shallow focus is made a glaring issue at the start when clips from \u201cOxford Blues\u201d play, emphasizing how cinematic films looked in the 1980s compared to the current digital era.<\/p>\n
\n\tA love story only works if audiences care about the couple, and despite the aforementioned shortcomings, Carson and Mylchreest elevate the material. They have great chemistry together, conducting heat and sparks for necessary rootable interest. Both deliver genuinely open-hearted performances. As seen mere months ago in her previous Netflix romantic-dramedy \u201cThe Life List,\u201d Carson is adept at making sarcasm and sorrow resonate, finding nuance and strength in vulnerability. When it comes to the supporting players, Harry Trevaldwyn is a true highlight as Anna\u2019s gay neighbor\/ classmate Charlie Butler. His attention-grabbing performance recalls Rhys Ifans in \u201cNotting Hill,\u201d stealing the show as the comedic relief best exemplified in a scene where he goes on a riff about his elaborate vision of his death.<\/p>\n
\n\tEverything that \u201cThe Fault In Our Stars\u201d and \u201cWish You Were Here\u201d do right by fans of \u201cGirl Who Is \u2018Going To Be Okay\u2019\u201d movies (to borrow the TikTok catchphrase), \u201cMy Oxford Year\u201d does wrong, vibrating on the same key as \u201cMe Without You,\u201d from its heroine\u2019s journey toward enlightenment to basic fundamentals dealing with character motivations. Our hopes for a thoughtful rumination on the messy bits of life making up the best parts of us deflates into a mess as the filmmakers continually forget their female protagonist should remain at the center of its universe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seconds after the opening credits of \u201cMy Oxford Year\u201d have discreetly scrolled across the screen, our happy heroine strolls the streets surrounding the titular British institution and is haphazardly doused by a massive puddle thanks to a vintage vehicle driven by her soon-to-be paramour. This klutzy comedic moment endemic to the rom-com genre unfortunately doubles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[7089,7088,7090,1479,7091],"class_list":{"0":"post-13412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-carries","9":"tag-carson","10":"tag-disheartening","11":"tag-sofia","12":"tag-weepie"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}