Surprised by Oxford

Watching Surprised by Oxford reminded me of my English major days. Academic discussion about Romantic period authors such as Donne, Milton, and Shelley delighted my literature-loving heart, but clever narrative ensured viewer understanding for those unfamiliar with these authors. I also enjoyed the visual footage of Oxford University. This old landmark, full of academia, history, and stories untold, created an enchanting setting for Carolyn Weber's faith journey. Her personal development unfolded as the movie explored Caro's struggle to acknowledge that intellect, while wonderful and necessary, does not explain everything. Likable characters surrounded Caro and bits of humor made me smile. The love story was a miss for me, but obviously it worked well for the real-life Webers. Caro's post-grad experience held some grit. There's profanity (no F-bomb), other crude language, and sexual innuendo. While it seemed edgy for a faith-based movie, it's pretty tame compared to college experiences of today. I didn't like the language and innuendo, but it didn't make me turn the movie off. More conservative viewers may want to avoid the movie, while others may not be bothered by this content. Surprised by Oxford is adapted from Carolyn Weber's memoir of the same title, which is now on my wish list. I didn't realize until the end credits that the real Carolyn Weber makes a cameo as a professor discussing C. S. Lewis. Disclaimer of Material Connection: Many thanks to Evolve Studios for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

Surprised by Oxford is an enjoyable movie that is not overly religious. There is no mention of the Bible, no church services, no sermons, no songs. There is no defining moment of Caro's coming to faith in this movie. Her faith grows slowly, conversation by conversation. It's definitely a different approach than the typical faith based movie. I felt like there was more time spent telling the story of Carolyn and Kent's relationship than there was of Caro's relationship with God.

I loved the story of the very smart little girl who had a tragedy in her life. Seems as though she became hardened to life and love as she grew older. It's a story of how she overcame. Something I didn't know is how beautiful Oxford is. Just the tour of the grounds was so interesting. Although this film has a beautiful message, I do have a warning about this film, I don't recommend this for young teenagers. A lot of casual drinking and some hints of casual sex were involved. I'm not sure where God is in the story but maybe he helped her love and trust again.

Surprised by Oxford is the story of Caro Drake and it is based on a true story. The film shows how she obtained her masters at Oxford University in England. She focused on her degrees in Romantic-Era literature, which is iconic since she tried to avoid love. It was interesting to watch her met Kent and how he tried to pursue her and at first, she wanted no part of him or love. There is a mixture of religion in the film. Kent grew up Protestant and believes in waiting for marriage. Caro has her doubts with religion and Christianity. She believes more in knowledge and she struggling with the fear of the unknown. It was compelling to observe how Kent would recommend C.S. Lewis works to her to read and how this allowed a door to open in her life. I also liked how the film showed the beginning of her life and how her father was arrested and this broke her relationship with her father. It covered the majority of her life and I thought they did a wonderful job at linking everything together. There is some cuss words and references to sex but it is rated PG-13 and it wasn't anything overly bad. Watchers will enjoy watching this true story come to life.

"Surprised by Oxford" explores Christianity on a more intellectual level than many faith-related films which will appeal to many. The movie is based on the memoir of Carolyn Weber, and the title of the film is a nod to the book, Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis... another Oxford scholarship recipient who discovered his faith in Christianity as an adult. Overall: Good acting, good story, and the views of Oxford are fascinating. There are a couple of PG-13 type swear words and adult situations spoken of, but nothing that merits a warning.

I really enjoyed this movie! It was mostly clean, except for multiple uses of the sh word. No sex, nudity, drugs, etc. I would feel good about watching it with my kids, ages 12+ I liked the story, but it seemed like the time period was a bit confusing. A lot of time seemed to go by without much character development. It is a movie that will give you the warm fuzzies and make you think. Literature lovers and Oxford lovers will enjoy this movie for the history, but it may lose some people during some of those discussions. I think the flashbacks to her childhood were done well. Overall, a very cute movie, I just wish that there was a little more depth to the main characters and to the story.

Many thanks to Evolve Studios for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own. #SurprisedByOxfordMIN #MomentumInfluencerNetwork

This movie is based on the memoir written by Carolyn Weber. I didn't fully realize this until the very end of the film. I had no idea what to expect before watching this and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The acting is really great and the setting of Oxford is just beautiful. I loved all of the architecture and the different shots of the buildings in different scenes. I was completely engrossed in the story from the start which I was worried that it could be boring and it certainly is not. There is some mild cussing and a few of the scenes show college partying but nothing graphic in my opinion. There are some references to sleeping around and shock at people being chaste and it actually creates interesting conversation in a couple scenes which I thought was good. One of the main people chooses abstinence and gets push back because of it. Basically this film tells the story of Caro as she is confronted with different beliefs and her reaction and growth on what faith means. I enjoyed how the love of literature is portrayed and the references to different authors. I think the movie left out some details that the book better explained but it is difficult for movies to fully grasp stories like this. There is a sweet love story and it was well written and acted. The ending had a fun twist and tied up the movie nicely. Overall I really enjoyed this movie and would watch it again. Many thanks to Evolve Studios for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

This is a charming rom com, but with a religious aspect to it, as the lead character, Caro, goes thru a space of religious awakening, thanks to the attentions of a TDH (Tall Dark and Handsome, LOL), that she was never expecting to meet. Their relationship is rocky, as he is Christian and chaste and she is nothing like him. He leads her to CS Lewis, who then opens her mind about what could be, and throws her into a existential crisis (as my 16 yr old would call it) and makes her question everything in her life, including the love she is feeling. As her life spirals out of control, she has to take the reins back, with the help of an unexpected source. Its a charming movie (an epic love poem to Oxford college itself), and my only quibble is I feel like the end just rushes up out of nowhere to tie things up in a bow. It is a 2 hours movie, but another 10 minutes might have added more to the finale. It's a good movie to see with high schoolers and college age students, to offer suggestions for reading, that can help them through their own questions of faith.

It was a relatable, enjoyable movie and I would recommend it to anyone.