This is the review that I have struggled to write the most. I tried to keep it spoiler free, but I just couldn’t write it without talking about some scenes and what stuck with me. So in case you haven’t seen ‘My Oxford Year’ yet, consider this your final spoiler warning. You’ve been warned!

I have to admit that I have seen some comments and posts about ‘My Oxford Year’ long before its release and some small spoilers since it’s based on Julia Whelan’s novel. Did I expect a happy ending after those posts? No. But what I didn’t expect was the impact this movie would have on me and I’m sure on some of you. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that it’s perfect by any means but it’s one that makes you feel so much throughout.

The movie follows Anna (Sofia Carson) as she travels to Oxford for a year to study at Oxford University. Anna has her life planned with a checklist and a future that she knows but it all changes when she meets Jamie (Corey Mylchreest) for the first time in a fish and chips shop and later in her class. Jamie’s secrets and life throw Anna’s plans out the window. I won’t go into too much detail as I’m sure you already know most of it.

If you follow me on Threads, you have probably seen my live commentary as I was watching ‘My Oxford Year’ and the many emotions I went through. At first I fell for the romantic story we all probably wish to experience one day: the trip to Oxford, Anna and Jamie’s karaoke scene, the library, the kiss in the rain, the stolen moments and vulnerability. It all led to a rom-com we wished could happen to us until we didn’t. What started off as a romance you can’t help but fall for slowly turned into something heavier, more real, more heartbreaking, more beautifully devastating.

The connection and feelings between Anna and Jamie although awkward at times, showed how quickly it can turn into love as it sneaks up on you when you least expect it or want it. As Jamie says ‘life has a way of derailing even the best laid plans’ as Anna has her list (she and Alex must be close friends) and plans for the future but life threw Jamie in when she least expected it full of enigma and poetry.

The turning point when Anna discovered Jamie’s reality felt like a splash of cold water. I have to say the scene in front of Dimitri’s Kebab where Anna and Jamie talk and later realise how much they care for each other is one of my favourites. You’re probably wondering why such a sad, heartbreaking scene is one of my favourite scenes. Although absolutely heartbreaking to hear Jamie talk about his life and what he has been through while watching Anna trying to navigate everything, it’s the way they both realise that the love between them is bigger than they expected. Jamie walks away trying to protect the both of them from the pain while Anna chooses him knowing that the love they share is worth more than the pain that it brings. I can’t help it the hopeless romantic in me was absolutely speechless at this scene.

So while the love and romance are central in ‘My Oxford Year’, it’s also heavier and more devastating than anticipated. The film handles the shift in tone in a beautiful way as you feel their love, joy, grief, maturity, and reality. Throughout, there’s the subtle storytelling and foreshadowing as Jamie sings ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay the first night out together and Anna starts wearing more yellow clothes in key scenes. Maybe I’m looking too much into it, but the way the song is about unconditional love feels intentional. Don’t get me started on the cake at the end or the shoes or the way we got the false hope that Anna and Jamie managed to go on their trip together only to be shown the opposite. It’s the small things in the movie that break your heart and give you goosebumps.

While Anna and Jamie are the ones we focus on there are more characters that simply break your heart. Jamie’s parents although not present as much on screen when they are you can’t help but feel their grief, strength, struggle, and silent heartbreak as they have to endure what no parent should ever have to. If there’s anything we learn from them it’s that life is fragile and no matter how much time we think we have with the ones we love, it is never guaranteed.

I do have to mention Cecilia (Poppy Gilbert) in this review. She seemed overprotective and she was not my favourite character at the start but she turned out to be one of my favourite characters by the end of it. Cecilia carries her own pain and story that adds depth to the film as the characters are more than what they seem. By the end of the film I wished I could hug her and learn more about her story as she had gone through so much, and yet she was still there helping Jamie.

‘My Oxford Year’ is the kind of film that makes you fall in love, breaks your heart while showing you the messy and heartbreaking reality some of us have to face. If there’s one thing I have learned from this movie it’s that even if it ends in pain to have loved and to have been loved so deeply is a privilege not everyone gets to experience and that to me it’s just beautifully devastating.

Have I wished for a different ending after all the heartbreak they put us through? Yes! But I realise that although the ending is not what we would have wanted it’s one of the reasons this movie is so powerful. It doesn’t show love overcoming everything as in reality there are things that no matter how strong the love is, simply can’t be fixed. So while we don’t get the happily ever after that we wanted for the both of them we do get the honest, painful, and maybe more meaningful ending.

Would I recommend watching ‘My Oxford Year’? Absolutely! Just don’t watch it when you have plans or things to do after. You will need a minute or more to process all the emotions this movie seems to bring out. Remember to have tissues close by!

Ending with this reminder:

‘Life has a way of derailing even the best laid out plans’

And

‘The best bits of life are often the messiest’

Because Jamie was right. Life will surprise you when you least expect it.