Surprised By Oxford
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''Surprised by Oxford'' is a 2022 British-American mystery romantic
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
written by Ryan Whitaker and Carolyn Weber, directed by Whitaker and starring Rose Reid and
Ruairi O'Connor Ruairí O'Connor (born 9 July 1991) is an Irish actor. On television, he is known for his role as Henry Tudor, the future Henry VIII, in the Starz series ''The Spanish Princess'' (2019–2020). His films include ''Handsome Devil (film), Handsome ...
.


Plot

The movie is based on a book by Carolyn Weber and describes her experiences in Oxford University in the early 1990's. The film begins with young Caro’s world turning upside down when she learns that her father has been living a double life. After he is arrested, Caro’s mother must work to raise her alone. Caro develops a fierce independence and a skeptical view of faith and religion. She’s determined to focus on her academic career and is portrayed as someone who places intellectual pursuits above personal or spiritual ones. Caro receives an undergraduate scholarship and then a scholarship to Oxford University for her PhD. As she settles into her new environment, she meets Kent Webber, a sensitive, charming fellow student who is committed to his faith. Their first interaction is brief, but Kent immediately stands out due to his openness about his beliefs, something Caro finds intriguing. However, she remains skeptical of religion and dismisses it as irrelevant to her life. In her classes and social settings, Caro encounters a diverse group of professors and students who debate faith, reason, and the meaning of life. The discussions cause her to question her convictions. As time passes, Caro and Kent’s friendship deepens. They share conversations about faith, literature, and life. Caro is increasingly drawn to Kent’s open-hearted approach to life. Despite their differences, their bond grows, and Caro finds herself wrestling with thoughts of faith, especially as Kent’s kindness and patience cause her to reexamine what she considers most important in life. Caro is warned that her grades are falling and she is in danger of losing her scholarship. She determines to concentrate solely on her studies. She ends all social contact with Kent. Caro’s social isolation leaves her depressed and lonely, but she remains committed to devoting all her time to her studies. When she observes Kent dating another student, she becomes emotionally distraught. While studying in the library, Caro violates the policy against using an inkpen. When the librarian scolds her for doing so, she breaks the pen, spilling ink on a library book. As a result, Caro is banned from using the library. The Provost, Regina Knight, kindly invites Caro to be her guest for the weekend. She describes her own experiences in life and encourages Caro to reconsider her priorities, including opening up rekindling her friendship with Kent. Upon her return to Oxford, Caro and Kent rekindle their feelings for each other. But Kent has bittersweet news: After he completed his studies, he accepted employment in Washington, DC, and must leave that same evening. As he leaves for the airport, Caro chases his taxi, but it does not stop, and she returns home soaked from the rain. The final scene fast-forwards 2 years. Caro has completed her studies and now teaches at Oxford. She gets a note with the mail. After reading it, she goes outside and wends her way through a crowd until she sees Kent. They embrace. The end credits explain that they married and Caro continued to have a successful career.


Cast

* Rose Reid as Caro Drake *
Ruairi O'Connor Ruairí O'Connor (born 9 July 1991) is an Irish actor. On television, he is known for his role as Henry Tudor, the future Henry VIII, in the Starz series ''The Spanish Princess'' (2019–2020). His films include ''Handsome Devil (film), Handsome ...
as Kent Webber * Phyllis Logan as Provost Regina Knight * Mark Williams as Professor Nuttham * Simon Callow as Dr. Sterling * Professor David Maw as himself


Production

Filming began in the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
in October 2021.


Release

The film premiered at the
Heartland International Film Festival The Heartland International Film Festival (HIFF) is a high academy qualifying film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States ...
on October 8, 2022. Then it was released in theaters on September 27, 2023. ''Surprised by Oxford'' was released on digital platforms on December 1, 2023.


Reception

The film has a 70% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
based on ten reviews. Nell Minow of '' RogerEbert.com'' awarded the film three stars. Bradley Gibson of '' Film Threat'' rated the film an 8 out of 10. Cath Clarke of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' awarded the film two stars out of five.


References


External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, surprised_by_oxford American mystery films American romantic drama films British romantic drama films