My Oxford Year Parent Guide

Anna (Sofia Carson) has her life all planned out. She just earned an English degree from Cornell and has a lucrative job waiting at Goldman Sachs. Before she begins her career in earnest, Anna’s giving herself a reward – a year spent studying Victorian poetry at Oxford University, the oldest university in England.

An enthusiastic Anna arrives in Oxford with a bucket list for the city’s many attractions and experiences. Then she has a meet-awkward with a handsome man, which becomes even more awkward when she discovers that Jamie Davenport (Corey Mylchreest) isn’t just the guy who soaked her with his car, but is also her newly hired poetry professor. Eventually the chemistry takes control and the two begin a relationship. There are plenty of romantic montages in beautiful locations – until Jamie’s secret is exposed and threatens to tear them apart.

There’s a lot to say about My Oxford Year, but my overwhelming emotion is “ick” – in 2025 you should not make a movie about a student sleeping with a professor. Falling for a fellow student? Sure. A romance with a handsome librarian? Okay. But a professor who grades her papers and automatically holds a power differential in the relationship? Absolutely not. There’s a reason that most universities, including Oxford, ban sexual relationships between staff and students: these relationships are inherently unequal and can easily become exploitative.

I realize that many fans of romantic movies will not care about this issue: after all, we all know that these movies are unrealistic escape fantasies. That’s fair ball – for adult viewers at least. (The last thing we want is for teenage girls to think that Anna and Jamie’s relationship is aspirational, leaving them vulnerable to predatory academics.) If you are a clear-eyed adult romance afficionado, you will probably enjoy My Oxford Year. The scenery is gorgeous, Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest are both good looking young people who manage to produce on-screen chemistry, and the plot is emotionally affecting. Anna has to decide what her priorities really are, what she wants from life, and what she is willing to sacrifice to obtain the future she wants. These decisions aren’t easy; they’re sometimes painful – but they give the movie some weight beyond the usual fluff in a Netflix romance.

As she assesses her choices, Anna tells Jamie that “A succession of small moments is all we have”. That’s true of movies too – they are a succession of moments; scenes and lines of dialogue that tell the story. Those moments include a few too many swear words (and a completely unnecessary sexual expletive), plenty of PG-13 rated sex, and quite a bit of social drinking, not to mention the inappropriate central relationship. But it also features moments of love, courage, forgiveness, self-assessment, honesty, and loyalty. Whether or not you think those positive moments balance the negative issues is your call.

About author

Kirsten Hawkes

Kirsten Hawkes has a BA in Political Science and English and has worked in international development and medical education and marketing. Kirsten enjoys reading, watching movies, and debating politics with her husband and sometimes unwilling children.