Author’s memoir now a movie
Romance, faith and purpose are themes
Canadian author and scholar Carolyn Weber’s 2011 award-winning memoir Surprised by Oxford is now a feature film. Directed and written by Ryan Whitaker, the movie is now streaming on Apple TV (SurprisedByOxford.movie) after a successful theatre run last fall in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and beyond.
“It all felt very surreal, very bizarre. I never imagined it becoming a film in any way, shape or form,” says Weber, who recently moved from a teaching position at Ontario’s Heritage College to Nashville where she is a professor at New College Franklin.
Surprised by Oxford chronicles Weber’s personal journey of finding faith and love while studying romantic literature at the University of Oxford, a 900-year-old setting that drips with British history and lends itself perfectly to a romantic drama.
So what’s it like to have your life story play out on the big screen? “It was a little frightening,” admits Weber. She notes that after lengthy discussions with Whitaker and his team, she felt comfortable signing over the film rights. “I felt they’d keep the story about God and faith, but that it would really speak to people from all backgrounds. Ryan’s a person of great personal integrity and he has a very gentle heart, so I felt there was a great community of trust.”
The project faced some logistical hurdles during the Covid-19 pandemic, but when restrictions eased during the first and second waves of the pandemic, Weber was able to unite with the cast and crew in England, and the movie was shot over the next two months.
The main roles of Caro (Carolyn) Drake and Kent Weber are played by Rose Reid and Ruairi O’Connor, while Caro’s mentor Provost Regina Knight is played by Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes from Downton Abbey). A strong feminine energy permeates the storyline as Caro works toward her PhD.
Weber says the necessity of condensing years from the book into minutes for the movie meant having to make certain concessions. For example, several mentors were combined into one person – Provost Knight. Despite the creative changes required, she feels Whitaker maintained the essence and spirit of her story. With further international distribution imminent, Weber says the film is reaching a younger generation. “I think the film is speaking to our current young audience – teens who are in high school and trying to think through relationships and those in college who are thinking about God’s purpose for them. We really wanted to create something that would be a gentle invitation for people to consider the bigger questions.”