This article contains spoilers for \u201cMy Oxford Year.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n I am the type of person who always wants to read the book before I see the movie. So when Netflix<\/a> first announced that two of the streamer\u2019s most popular small-screen stars, Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest, would be starring together in a romance based on Julia Whelan\u2019s novel \u201cMy Oxford Year,\u201d I immediately added the book to my TBR list…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The story begins with Ella (Carson) leaving to fulfill a lifelong dream, studying at Oxford. Almost immediately upon arrival, Jamie (Mylchreest), a charming and rakish man, speeds past her in a vintage car, soaking her with water. She tells him off, and, of course, he ends up being the professor for her graduate course on poetry. Then, of course, the pair of enemies quickly become lovers, albeit casual ones. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n At least, that\u2019s the intention. Ella is supposed to return to the States for her dream job, and Jamie doesn\u2019t want a commitment. In the book, Ella (whose character\u2019s name is Anna in the film), eventually realizes that there may be more to Jamie\u2019s commitment phobia than originally thought. He has a secret: He has terminal cancer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While the \u201cMy Oxford Year\u201d adaptation follows these elements of the book\u2019s overall story arc, it waters down the rest of the novel, diluting its essence with simplified storylines, unnecessary tropes and an unrealistic depiction of death. Put simply, \u201cMy Oxford Year\u201d is a terrible adaptation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s so bad that it can\u2019t even be saved by Carson, whom Vanity Fair has declared to be Netflix\u2019s \u201cfirst bona fide movie star<\/a>\u201d after her string of successful films for the streamer (\u201cFeel the Beat,\u201d \u201cPurple Hearts,\u201d \u201cCarry-On,\u201d and \u201cThe Life List\u201d). The biggest problem is that Carson has almost zero on-screen chemistry with Mylchreest (save for a moment with kabobs and another in the library). Also, Claire Finlay-Thompson\u2019s overly stuffy styling (think fitted sweaters and office-appropriate skirts) makes Carson\u2019s character appear far too formal for a Gen Z graduate student. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n However, the biggest problem lies in the writing. In the book, Carson\u2019s character is significantly more complex and interesting; she is more than a stereotypically na\u00efve American embarking on a coming-of-age journey abroad. Ella is a Rhodes Scholar who has been asked to work remotely from Oxford as the education consultant for the political campaign of rising star Janet Wilkes. It\u2019s her dream job. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n In contrast, in the movie, Anna is set to start a lucrative \u201cWall Street job.\u201d Her character is devoid of any ambition other than making money. She has no motivation or passion for her work. She has no desire to change the world and advocate for others. This makes her movie counterpart one-dimensional and directionless. The writers do attempt to give her some complexity as a Hispanic young woman navigating a predominantly white and wealthy environment. However, even this attempt falls short because the tension is reduced to a single encounter in a pub in which another student accuses Anna of fulfilling a diversity quota. Because her identity doesn\u2019t come up again, it turns the pub scene into the very thing it\u2019s criticizing: an ill-executed grasp at meaningful representation. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Also, in the book, Ella is still processing the grief of her dad\u2019s death, and its emotional toll serves as one of the things that forms a deeper and unexpected connection between Ella and Jamie because he lost his brother. In the movie, Anna\u2019s parents are both still alive. Without this thread, the connection between Anna and Jamie in the movie feels as tenuous as any study-abroad fling instead of the life-changing love story that it is supposed to be. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Jamie\u2019s character is also less developed. In the film, he is a Ph.D. student who ends up filling in for their actual professor. As a lover of poetry, one of his biggest arcs in the book is the transition from reader to writer. This never occurs in the movie, and his only real arc is figuring out how to navigate his grief-stricken family, a problem that is far too-easily and predictably solved. The one thing Jamie\u2019s character has going for him is that he is being played by Mylchreest who, thankfully, brings the same charm to the character that he brought to young King George in Netflix\u2019s \u201cQueen Charlotte<\/a>\u201d even though he isn\u2019t given that much material to work with. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Similarly, the cast of secondary characters that are supposed to be Anna\u2019s friends are portrayed caricatures instead of people. They are reduced to the stereotype of quirky Brits and never given the chance to become more than the exaggerated expressions and overacted dialogue they deliver (one particularly painful example of this occurs during a surprise party). <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n These developmental shortcomings are exacerbated by the trope-filled plot. There\u2019s the far-too-clich\u00e9d scene of them dancing with other partners to make each other jealous, a Halloween party in which Anna is one of the only in costume, a dash together through the rain, a potential love triangle that fizzles far too quickly because the guy turns out to be a \u201cmeathead rower,\u201d karaoke, and an arbitrary group singalong. All of these additions are cringey and predictable and detract from the love story that never really gets a chance to be told. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n However, what is ultimately most egregious is the way that the movie glosses over Jamie\u2019s disease and death. Because the book delves into Ella\u2019s caretaking of Jamie and the limitations his cancer places on their relationship, I wasn\u2019t expecting the movie to miss the mark so badly. But it does. Jamie\u2019s cancer is reduced to a single bag of chemo, and his decline occurs amid an artsy montage of the places they could have traveled together, cementing this movie as just another <\/span>unrealistic portrayal<\/span><\/a> of illness and death that is too peaceful, too clean, too easy. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The unimaginative ending shouldn\u2019t have been surprising because the movie misses every other mark. The cinematography even somehow manages to make Oxford look droll, and the soundtrack is so void of emotional resonance that it feels like it was selected in post-production by AI. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Within this era of the adaptation \u2014 every popular romance seems to be on its way to the small screen \u2014 the quality of \u201cMy Oxford Year\u201d probably won\u2019t matter. The combination of the book\u2019s fan base and the viewers excited to see Carson and Mylchreest together on-screen almost guarantees that \u201cMy Oxford Year\u201d will debut in Netflix\u2019s Top 10 list. It\u2019s unlikely to matter that the end result is shoddy. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n 20 Years Of<\/span>Free<\/span>Journalism<\/span><\/p>\n Your Support<\/span>Fuels<\/span>Our Mission<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Your Support<\/span>Fuels<\/span>Our Mission<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Sofia](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/688baf511700003f062a0c6c.jpg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
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