The following contains MAJOR spoilers for My Oxford Year.My Oxford Year, the latest Sofia Carson-starring romantic comedy on Netflix, features a number of strong quotes.The film’s story centers around the romance between Jamie and Anna,two graduate students at Oxford University. With some creativechanges to theMy Oxford Yearbook, the film is one of the stronger recent romances on the streamer.
Sofia Carson’s best moviesshow her to be a strong and dynamic force in Hollywood. She plays Anna in the film, andher chemistry with Corey Mylchreest, who plays Jamie, is off the charts. The two make a perfect pair, which helps to make so much of the story feel so resonant.
My Oxford Yearis funny, but it is also deeply sad. The film has found massive success onNetflix’s viewership streaming charts, and looks likely to be watched many times in the coming days, weeks, and even years.Much of this success is bolstered by a strong script,which features some impeccable dialogue.
10"I Thought That I Would Set The Tone By Offering You A Bribe. It’s A Massive Cake."
My Oxford Yearuses this cake as a metaphor twice in the film forthe importance of partaking in the things that bring joy.However, in this scene, before the themes of the movie have been unpacked, it appears to be nothing more than a cake itself, which is a funny and charming image.
Dusted with icing sugar and filled with jam,the delicious cake allows Jamie to show himself as someone quirky and caring, while also coming off as nervous and insecure. His charming humor is shown in the deliberateness of his dialogue, where he lays out his intentions with the cake plainly.
9“Everyone’s Super Excited To Have You In Oxford. You’re Such A Novelty.”
Anna struggles at first to fit in at Oxford.While bonding with a new group of friends, Cecelia comes over to try and help hermeet some single men. This feels passive-aggressive at first, as the relationship between Cecelia and Jamie has not yet been explained, and it goes poorly.
Characters like Ian are boorish, andhe and Anna spar a little bit back and forth with chatter that turns mean-spirited.This makes Anna feel unwanted and unknown, and the distance between her and her family feels vast.
Fortunately, there is some truth to Cecelia’s intention, andthe connection between Anna and her does have room to develop.This follows with Anna finally breaking through with Jamie, as the two take on their first night together in London.
8“Dimitri’s Is Our Place.”
It is often the little things that bring people together, and that becomes clear in this scene fromMy Oxford Year, whereJamie asks Anna about her night out with another man.He speaks calmly as she recounts their evening, but flares up with frustration when she mentions that she took him to Dimitri’s.
Dimitri’s, a doner kebab street vendor, is an important part of Jamie and Anna’s first night out together, and symbolizes the start of their connection. Sometimes the little things in life, even those as trivial as a plate of meat and pita, draw people together in intimate ways.
Dimitri’s is something special that Anna and Jamie share, andJamie’s sudden burst of emotion here symbolizes how much meaning he finds in things even as small as this.This moment, where Anna recognizes Jamie’s romantic spirit, helps to draw them together.
7“Do You Think That Things Are Only Meaningful If They Last Forever?”
Anna first challenges Jamie with her essay, whereshe picks out the poem that she feels she can best weaponize against him.To her surprise, Jamie sees through her, and uses this as an opportunity to discuss bigger ideas. This line provides insight into the rest of the film, but it also stokes a connection between the leads.
So much of the film is about the fleetingness of life, and this applies to all things.Whether poetry, pleasure, experience, or life itself, nothing will last forever, and there is great importance in holding onto what can be felt in the moment. Jamie and Anna continue to bond over this through the film’s runtime.
6“I Just Think There’s No Better Smell In The Whole World Than The Smell Of Old Books.”
Anna is a sweet character, and her motivations are best explained in this scene, where she drinks in a pub with Jamie.Anna shows here that she has a genuinely romantic soul, and that her desire to study abroad came from the feelings that she is able to get from old books, and the joy of being in a library.
This scene is also an important point of connection for Jamie and Anna, who still feel at an arm’s length from one another.In this dialogue, Jamie sees how much he and Anna have in common,which helps them to grow so much closer as they proceed toward their beautiful romance.
5“Ignore The Lady. She Has Yet To Learn How To Live Deliberately.”
The relationship betweenCecelia and Jamie inMy Oxford Yearis one of the most complex in the film. In this scene, the audience, along with Anna, are introduced to Jamie, andhe appears to be little more than an arrogant boor.He expresses this statement, which is given greater context as the film goes on.
Jamie is not diminishing Cecelia, he is being playful towards her. At this point in time,while suffering through cancer treatments, Jamie is doing everything that he can to make the most out of the life that he has.Meanwhile, Cecelia, who is like a sister to him, continues to hurt after their shared loss of Eddie.
The film is all about living deliberately,and this is something that the supporting characters, including Cecelia, learn in time.
4“You Don’t Live Longer. You Just Die Slower.”
After Anna finds Jamie receiving the last of his treatment, the two share an emotional and difficult moment together. From there,Jamie outlines the loss of his brother, and goes into detail about Eddie’s treatment.It was painful and arduous and while it gave Eddie more time, it did not allow him to have a life worth living.
As is his drive throughout the film, Jamie wishes to live well. He does not want to ruin his life just for the hope of having more of it. This statement is a dark reflection on his past, butit also speaks about his driving ethos.From these words, the character helps to establish himself in the film.
3“All He Wants In His Final Moments Is To Hear The Gentle Tolling Of A Bell.”
Jamie reflects on the art that he loves in parallel with his own experiences throughout the film, but never is this clearer than in this powerful scene. After sustaining a painful fall from overexertion that leads to a hospital stay,Anna considers Jamie’s health in sync with a scene of him lecturing.
Speaking about the Alfred Tennyson poem “Crossing the Bar,“Jamie draws some clear comparisons to his own life.The poem is an apt choice, confronting death, and Jamie is able to put his own experience into his reading of it.
Death does not have to be the most terrifying thing,and in this scene, Jamie captures something truthful about his own fears and his suffering. Reflecting on this poem, he creates a unique setting in which Anna can consider not just his future, but her own as well.
2“Poetry Can Be Taught. But Really, It Should Be Lived. Let It In And Allow It To Change Your Life.”
After contending with the loss of Jamie, with whom she was brought into such close proximity through poetry,Anna has learned a great deal about herself and about the literature that she loves.The idea of living deliberately permeates the soul of the film, and reflects well in this final scene.
While previously Anna looked to use poetry as a weapon against Jamie,she is now able to see it as representative of their intimate bond.In this scene, it is made clear that she has grown as a person, and while much of that was through Jamie, another portion came from her love of literature.
1“You Should Never Regret The Things You Do. You Should Only Regret The Things You Don’t Do.”
In defending her choice to stay in England at theend ofMy Oxford Year,Anna responds to Jamie with the same things that he had taught her.While Jamie at first fights back, believing this to be him robbing her of her future, he is soon able to see that staying is exactly what Anna wants.
Like everything reflected through the film about living a deliberate life,Anna shows Jamie the impact that he has had on her.Their connection is meaningful, and it has left a mark on Anna in a way that will go on to influence her whole future.
Anna stays in Oxford, and she takes Jamie’s place after his death in the film.My Oxford Yearshows how important the connections between people are, and how they are the currents on the banks of which the rest of life is built.Anna makes her choices, and she stands by them, for better and for worse,because they are what she needs.
