Surprised by Oxford is not so surprising — and that’s a good thing
Madeline Fry Schultz
Video Embed
As the leaves begin turning, it’s time for a new British drama. It has been over a year since the latest Downton Abbey movie came out, and Call the Midwife finished releasing its latest season this spring. Fans of such fare will be happy to know that a new film coming out on Wednesday has everything they might want: a romance, references to Romantic writers, and the beautiful architecture of Oxford, England.
Based on the memoir of the same name, Surprised by Oxford tells the story of Carolyn (“Caro”) Drake, who leaves a troubled past behind to pursue a doctorate in literature at Oxford. The plot follows our heroine as she falls in love with a fellow student and finds her way to Christianity.
FACULTY FREE SPEECH UNDER SCRUTINY WITH EROSION OF ACADEMIC TENURE
At a party, Caro (Rose Reid) meets Kent (Ruairi O’Connor), whom she refers to as TDH (“tall, dark, and handsome”). He’s a Christian, a fact that is clumsily introduced through a text he receives from a friend: “Got a girl for you to meet. Super devout, super hot, super still a virgin (if rumors are true).”
Caro, glancing at his phone, is horrified. Kent later explains his celibacy (“it’s more of a well-intentioned attempt than a reality”) and his faith (though never why he’s friends with someone who creepily refers to women as “super still a virgin”).
As their relationship grows, Kent recommends that Caro read C.S. Lewis’s Surprised by Joy, the book that gave the film its title and whose title is inspired by William Wordsworth. While the film can often feel like a series of vignettes in which philosophical questions are discussed in brief, Surprised by Oxford raises some interesting arguments on the difference between pleasure and joy, the reality of truth, and, well, the meaning of life.
It does suffer from some clunky and oversimple narratives: For instance, when she was young, Caro’s father got hauled away by the authorities on multiple felony charges, and now she’s scared to trust another man. (“You’re afraid to let yourself be loved,” Kent tells her.)
And though the film may be about two young people, its highlights are its older stars.
Downton Abbey’s Phyllis Logan plays Provost Regina Knight, who becomes a mentor to Caro and whose wisdom and sense of peace through adversity make her a pleasant foil.
Mark Williams of Father Brown and Harry Potter fame plays Professor Nuttham, a kindly scholar who chides an unprepared student by recounting to his class a story about 18th-century poet Alexander Pope. Pope gifted the prince of Wales a dog with a cheeky inscription on its collar: “I am his Highness’ Dog at Kew; / Pray tell me Sir, whose Dog are you.”
“We all bow to something,” Caro surmises.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Indeed,” Nuttham agrees, adding, “We all, consciously or unconsciously, bend the knee to something greater than ourselves.”
Surprised by Oxford will be a crowd-pleaser for Christian audiences and the British-comfort-show crowd. The plot is predictable, but maybe that’s a good thing. As the film seems to say of the Christian faith, life’s better when you know what happens at the end.