A 2025 Netflix film with a 1-hour and 52-minute runtime, My Oxford Year falls into the comedy, drama, romance, and tragedy genres. Directed by Iain Morris and produced by Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, the film features Anna (Sofia Carson) and Jamie (Corey Mylchreest) as its lead characters.
The plot is simple, with a run-of-the-mill storyline, but the execution is remarkable.
After graduating from college, Anna, an ambitious young American woman, declines an impressive job offer to visit her dream place, Oxford. She wants a year to fulfill all her yearnings.
The two fall in love as she learns Victorian poetry from Professor Jamie.
The film demonstrates how the couple finds joy in small things, such as eating kebabs without using napkins and by messing their fingers, and finding joy in the musky smell of books in the library, and visiting Europe.
They enter into a relationship, calling it only ‘fun’ and nothing beyond that.
The scene where Jamie and Anna are in his office is exciting and subtle. As Jamie asks her to pick her favourite poem from the anthology of British poets, it comes as a surprise, a funny coincidence, that Jamie’s and Anna’s interests match in Victorian poetry. The scene is shot beautifully. It gives a clear picture to the viewer of the love that will sprout between them. The scene invites appreciation as the romance between the two is evident without resorting to physical intimacy.
However, there has been criticism of the chemistry between Anna and Jamie. It seems contrived, and doesn’t seem natural. Jamie appears to be the perfect guy, but Anna is just a commoner. That is true for Anna, not only because of how she looks physically, but also because she is intelligent and witty, which makes Jamie fall in love with her.
The truth about Jamie is revealed gradually, leading the romance to a tragic twist. But the twist in the love story is interesting and leaves the viewer aghast. Jamie’s desire for nature to take its course seems believable yet unbelievable.
Jamie suffers from a rare disease for which there is no cure, or rather, Jamie doesn’t want treatment on the pretext that he doesn’t want to be in the hospital for the rest of his life. He wants to live his life!
The scene where Anna discovers Jamie’s truth is again powerful. As Anna rushes into his room, he screams at her, telling her to leave immediately. Anna leaves in tears. However, she doesn’t leave Jamie in the lurch. She stands by him until his last breath.
The film is well-directed and worth a one-time watch. It makes the viewer laugh and cry at the same time. It is funny yet sad. Even though the plot is predictable, it touches the viewer’s emotions.
The film can be compared to the Indian film Kal Ho Na Ho. It is also a tragic love story, but with a different twist. However, the film’s setting is breathtaking, showing Oxford University in a detailed manner. The selection of characters is careful. The soundtrack is compelling and slow. It is perfect for a tragic romance and can be compared to the song ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion in Titanic.
My Oxford Year is a light-hearted yet poignant love story that entwines fun and sorrow. Sad yet exciting, it is not as bad as the reviews suggest. 
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