Surprised by Oxford

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 did not know anything about this film, I turned up, it had an intro by the writer of the book it's based on - Carolyn Weber, and the producer too. And I have to admit, this film is rather good. The intro goes on about it being a romance film, which it sort of is, but really goes into the lead character- Carolyn's life from a child in America and the years at Oxford, England.

Roes Reid is brilliant as Carolyn, who struggles with study, a strange romance and if she is a religious person, after meeting Kent Weber, played with proper conviction, by Ruairi O'Connor. He is a very religious person and his views and others make Carolyn, really question her life and what she really wants and what she thinks of others.

Oxford looks really nice, the direction by Ryan Whitaker is spot on, capturing the background of Oxford, along with the cast which has star turns from Simon Callow, Jordan Alexandra, Emma Naomi, a very memorable Lourdes Faberes, and the splendid Phyllis logan, who is quite changeable and starts off as very stiff, but really is a driving force too.

I give this 7.5 /10 as I was Surprised by Oxford. But I don't think I'd want to study or work there though..

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.

I enjoyed the book so I was anxious to see the movie, but disappointed. In the book, among Oxford erudites, Caro learned there is more to life than the education of man, God and Jesus. The movie is more about her relationship with the man she falls in love with. I does give one a good perspective of Oxford which seems to have a culture if its own in 37 or 38 colleges. That was interesting and informative.

Admission was more than twice the price of regular admission and may have accounted for just 4 people in the theatre when I went.

I am sending the book to others. See the movie for the scenery.

Having read the book I was disappointed the movie was more about the love story than it was about the conversion the author experienced. The focus of the book was the author's conversion. The love story was a minor part. I felt the conversion story in the movie was almost non existent, and it felt like they were actually trying to downplay it. The acting was very good, and it was great to see some of my favorite British actors. The cinematography and scenery was beautiful as well as the music. It should have been a love story for Jesus not TDH. It was almost confusing to understand what point the movie was trying to make when compared to the clear message of the book.