Corey Mylchreest, star of Netflix sensation My Oxford Year, has defended the film’s heartbreaking ending.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the actor explained why the drama, based on Julia Whelan’s 2018 novel, deviated from the book.
While Whelan’s version ends with Jamie, who has terminal cancer, being well enough to travel through Europe with Anna, the film took a different approach, revealing that Jamie (Mylchreest) had died with Anna (Sofia Carson) by his side, prompting her to make the journey through Europe alone in honour of their love.
A devastating watch for fans of the film, many have taken to social media in response. “Did I finish the movie or did the movie finish me?” quipped one. “The day Corey takes an actual romcom role is the day I’ll know peace again, enough of him torturing me,” noted another.
“We should have known better the second we found out that My Oxford Year has the same producers as The Fault in Our Stars,” wrote a third.
Chris Baker//Netflix
Related: Watch the tear-filled trailer for new Colleen Hoover movie with Reacher star
Addressing the tearful ending, Mylchreest has defended the film’s conclusion. “It’s better like that,” he told EW.
“It’s more powerful. That is the direction that the book is heading in, and it would feel like hypocrisy for Jamie to speak all these things and for Anna to be understanding that philosophy of life [and not end there].”
Chris Baker//Netflix
Related: Best streaming services in 2025
Carson has also weighed in, noting that the dream-like sequence in which Anna is shown travelling with Jamie at her side in spirit, felt right to the cast and crew. “Even though it’s clear Anna’s alone at the end, we left it a little bit ambiguous because we wanted the film to end with hope and with light,” she said.
“Then, when he disappears and when he’s gone and you assume she’s lost him, that element of hope and the idea of life after love and life after loss is a really powerful thing.”
My Oxford Year is available to watch on Netflix.
Digital Spy’s new print issue is here! Buy Oasis – Live in ’25 in newsagents or online, now priced at just £8.99.
Deals that might interest you
Shop Sky TV, broadband and mobile deals
Richard Osman: We Solve MurdersCredit: Viking
Stranger Things Hellfire Club dice dangle charmCredit: Pandora
Shop PS5 consolesCredit: PlayStation
Shop Alison Hammond’s outfitsCredit: Mark Bourdillon
Apple TV+ 7-day free trialCredit: Apple TV+
Sign up for Disney+Credit: Chuck Zlotnick
The Street of Lies: An Official Coronation Street Interactive NovelCredit: Octopus Books
Death in Paradise: The Puzzle BookCredit: BBC Books
Megan is a freelance news reporter for Digital Spy.Â