The first trailer for My Oxford Year, starring Sofia Carson, has been revealed

There’s a new trailer making the rounds. For a film called My Oxford Year. It’s based on a book and stars Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest. At first glance, it might look like another love story, maybe one with a British backdrop and a predictable arc. But the way this trailer lands is a little different. Not too loud. Not too polished either. Almost like it’s trying not to be a trailer at all.

It opens slowly. No rush. Just shots of Oxford. Stone buildings. Narrow streets. Rainy air. And this student, Anna, is walking like she’s late for something important. That’s Carson. Her character seems focused. Organized. Someone who follows plans and deadlines and doesn’t usually stop in the middle of a bridge to talk to a stranger. Except that she does.

The story that doesn’t arrive all at once

Anna’s supposed to be in Oxford for a year. Maybe for a degree. Maybe for a stepping stone. There’s a job waiting after, some high-profile thing that makes sense for someone like her. She’s not drifting. She’s got goals.

Then Jamie happens. Not in a dramatic way. He doesn’t crash into her life. He’s just there. Talking. Asking questions. Quoting poetry, maybe. He doesn’t seem like someone she would’ve chosen. That’s probably why it works.

Scenes that feel like memories

The trailer doesn’t give away too much. It holds back. You see flashes. A conversation in a café. Biking across the city. Rain. A moment by the river, maybe. It doesn’t follow a structure. Some shots linger longer than they should. Others cut away before anything is said.

It feels like My Oxford Year is more interested in atmosphere than answers. There’s one moment where Anna looks out a window and says nothing. The silence says more than a full page of dialogue would. That seems to be the mood of the entire film. Things happen, sure, but not everything is explained. Not everything is loud. Some choices just slip in and stay there.

Chemistry that takes time

Sofia Carson plays Anna with restraint. She doesn’t try to charm right away. There’s a stiffness in her early scenes, a sense that she’s holding something back. It fits. That’s who Anna is when she arrives. Someone who’s been told how to succeed and has learned how to keep control.

Corey Mylchreest, as Jamie, feels like the opposite. There’s a quiet ease to him. He doesn’t rush. He lets the pauses stay. Doesn’t try to fill them with noise. He listens more than he talks. That kind of rhythm between two characters doesn’t show up often. Not unless it’s carefully built.

What’s interesting in My Oxford Year is how their dynamic doesn’t follow the usual path. There’s no montage of them falling in love. It’s slower. Less about grand moments and more about small shifts. A question was asked a little too seriously. A look held just long enough to mean something.

What changes without asking permission

At its core, My Oxford Year doesn’t feel like a story about romance. At least not in the way people usually describe it. It’s more about timing. About how being somewhere new, away from everything familiar, can make a person start to look at themselves differently.

Anna comes to Oxford thinking it’s just a year. A short detour before real life starts. But it becomes something else. She meets people she wasn’t supposed to meet. Gets drawn into conversations she hadn’t prepared for. Her ideas begin to soften. The structure she built starts to bend.

None of that feels like a crisis. More like a slow unraveling. She’s not falling apart. She’s just shifting. And maybe realizing that she can.

Details that carry the story

The film was shot on location in Oxford and Windsor. That decision shows. There’s texture in the background. The buildings don’t look like sets. The lighting isn’t too perfect. Even the sound design feels a little raw. Like, they kept the ambient noise on purpose.

In My Oxford Year, there’s also the fact that Sofia Carson helped produce the film. That might explain why the tone feels more careful. Less manufactured. Her performance doesn’t aim for easy emotion. It stays close to something quieter. Something more internal.

The use of poetry throughout is another layer. It’s not just there for effect. Jamie quotes lines, yes, but the rhythm of the language seeps into the film itself. The way the characters speak, the pauses they allow, it all feels shaped by something a little older, a little slower.

Release plans and reception

My Oxford Year is set to premiere on Netflix on August 1, 2025. No major campaign yet. Just a trailer, a few interviews, and some press coverage from outlets like Elle and Tudum. The rollout has been understated. Maybe intentionally.

This isn’t the type of film that screams for attention. It seems content with being found slowly. By the kind of audience that doesn’t need everything spelled out. The kind that rewatches for the atmosphere, not just the ending.

What stays with you after My Oxford Year ends

Some films hit hard and leave fast. Others arrive softly and stay longer than expected. This one feels like it’s aiming for the second type.

The trailer doesn’t promise resolution. There’s no hint that everything works out or falls apart. It just suggests that something shifts. A season, a plan, a person. And that’s probably enough.

My Oxford Year might not change the genre. But it doesn’t seem like it’s trying to. It just wants to tell one story. About one person. During one year. And how sometimes, that’s all it takes.