Movie Review - Surprised By Oxford

I read a sort of 'movie review' by an author friend of mine on the blog The Warrior Co (read her review of Thunderbolts* here) not too long ago and was searching for an idea for a post today and figured I'd write a movie review of my own. Today, I present to you, Surprised By Oxford.

(Warning: small amounts of spoilers ahead--I tried to keep it at a minimum)

This movie is based on the true story of a young woman named Carolyn Weber who goes on full scholarship to Oxford University, studying Romantic Literature (1970-1850). Caro has been a top student since her father abandoned her with her mother when she was eight. She graduated high school and went on to gain a Bachelor Degree in some sort of Literature, the movie doesn't say. Her goal in life is to get a PH.D.

Something about this movie stuck out at me. It wasn't the romance or the literature (both of which were thrillingly fantastic to watch unfold) but the questions Caro asked and the boldness--strength, if you may--of her contemplations.

In one scene, she's listening to a presentation by Dr. Condorston speak about meaning and authority. Before I explain to you the statement Caro made that caught my attention, I want to give you a little bit of context. Her professor was talking about the 'Moro Reflex' which is, to anyone who is not familiar with the term, a reflex people have observed in infants where, when they are about to fall, 'they open their arms, close them, and start crying.' (Quote: Dr. Condorston) Caro begins by making the observation that 'Children just don't like falling'. The Doctor goes on to say that 'humanity feels the need to cling to something tangible in the face of distress.'

Caro then says this: 'Maybe you're wrong. Maybe we reach for something or desire something because that something is there, beyond us--the thing all our desires point to.'

Caro is not religious. This movie, as you could have guessed, is the story of her finding faith and, eventually, that thing she's been searching so hard for, that thing she wants to cling to.

In another scene, Caro is standing with the love interest, Kent Weber, and she's faced with the question that, internally, she'd been asking since she was eight years old.

Kent says: 'I know that you have every reason to be angry, you have every reason to be confused, and to push everyone away, but is that what you want? Is that what you want? Do you want to be alone?'

She is faced with the betrayal and abandonment of her father.

Her grades are getting worse and worse.

She's reaching. She's asking all these questions, thinking so deeply.

But what she really needs is something to grab on to.

She wants something to hold.

'We are not, after all, masters of our own fate.' says Professor Nuttham. In one scene, long before any of the above things happened. "We are not all-knowing, autonomous, or self-sufficient. We all consciously, or unconsciously, bend the knee to something greater than ourselves.'

Caro ended the story in Jesus' arms. She found the thing she was looking for, aided by Kent's religious background and a few of her other friends' religions, but, mostly, by the questions she kept asking.

In a way, I see a small part of Caro in myself. I ask the questions. Over and over and over again. The part that is different, through, is that I went through things already knowing what I was reaching toward.

I rate the movie 4-stars (acting: 3-stars; storyline: 4.5-stars; characters: 4-stars (some of them are quiet one-dimensional) but award it with a badge of tears. And no, I didn't actually cry, but I almost did.

Watch Surprised by Oxford on Prime Video, Angel Studios, Apple TV, and Tubi today--charges may be applied or subscriptions needed.

The End,