THE STORY – A lonely bookseller, immersed in fantasy, must pursue her writing aspirations to improve her love life. She’s compelled to turn her dreams into reality to stop sabotaging a romance
THE CAST – Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Charlie Anson, Annabelle Lengronne, Liz Crowther, Alan Fairbairn & Lola Peploe
THE TEAM – Laura Piani (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 98 Minutes
Where is a good place to start with Jane Austen’s screen adaptations? If you ask this viewer, Ang Lee’s 1995 film, “Sense & Sensibility,” springs to mind. Lee’s gentle interpretation of Austen’s novel works wonders precisely because of how well he depicts societal pressures and repressed emotions. Lee powerfully observes a dynamic sister act, wherein Dashwood sisters Elinor (Emma Thompson) and Marianne (Kate Winslet) represent two inherently different outlooks. As it turns out, both need a combined sense and sensibility to find their fulfillment. The universality of characters searching for what makes them happy in life demonstrates why Austen’s work, now over 200 years old, resonates today. This timelessness gives writer and director Laura Piani a strong foundation to make a contemporary French rom-com inspired by the British novelist’s evergreen voice.
Piani’s delightful feature-length debut, “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,” encompasses a lot of what one would find in Austen’s work: a comedy of errors, an elusive love triangle, and a clever female protagonist. Aspiring author Agathe (Camille Rutherford) works at the Shakespeare and Company bookshop, which isn’t just any old bookshop in Paris. This special landmark was once a gathering place for classic writers from Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald to James Joyce. To this day, Shakespeare and Company attract authors and literary romantics from around the world, in addition to fans of Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy. In “Before Sunset,” it was at this very bookshop that Jesse and Celine rekindled their love after nine years apart.
It feels ideal that Agathe, terrified of dating apps and insistent that she was born in the wrong era, finds herself selling books in a centuries-old building full of romantic history. Surrounded by inspiration from all corners, Agathe seems to have found the perfect setting to pursue her writing aspirations. But ever since a traumatic car accident, she has put her life on hold. She struggles to see a clear romantic or literary future for herself, which spills into her writing, as she often gets stuck on how to end her stories. One evening, while dining solo, Agathe finds the creative spark to write a new story: a romance about a woman who falls for the man she sees in her sake cup.
Félix (Pablo Pauly), Agathe’s co-worker and best friend (and maybe more), reads the first few chapters of her new book and secretly submits these pages to the Jane Austen estate. This prompts an invitation for Agathe to attend a two-week writers’ retreat at the esteemed residency. Upon arriving in England, she meets Austen’s great, great, great, great nephew, Oliver (Charlie Anson), who lives at the estate and, ironically, finds Austen’s work overrated. Oliver’s endearing confidence and awkwardness, not to mention uncanny Hugh Grant vibes that evoke 90s rom-com alchemy, open the door to competing affections between himself and Félix for Agathe’s love. Through clumsy encounters, literary group chats by the fire, and small acts of kindness, Agathe begins to rediscover her voice as a writer.
Much like Austen’s writing, the film finds strength in a witty, personality-driven screenplay that places the utmost importance on gestures. We get to know characters through everyday acts of love and defiance, starting with the protagonist. Whether insulting Oliver in French (not thinking he would understand the language) or walking nakedly into his adjoining room by mistake, Agathe is very good at screwing up. She describes herself as the Palme d’Or of losers, the Turner Prize recipient for drifting, the Anne Elliot of Austen heroines, wilted like a flower that needs water. And she’s a hopeless romantic suffering from major writer’s block.
As the deeply relatable Agathe, Camille Rutherford leads the film with terrific charm and confidence. Rutherford excels at conveying the character’s awkwardness and shines in the moments of slapstick physical comedy. She’s a perfect match for the mix of melancholy and lightheartedness in Piani’s direction and writing. Rutherford also complements Charlie Anson’s disarming energy; they share delightful chemistry and nail the rom-com trope of characters who start on the wrong foot and end up in each other’s arms. Anson, an uncanny reincarnation of Hugh Grant, radiates subtle charisma and can communicate plenty with the slightest gesture.
Evoking the charm of ’90s and early 2000s rom-coms like “Notting Hill” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” stands out as a sparkling addition to the golden age of this genre. Piani understands what makes a great romantic-comedy work: radiating optimism and romantic fantasy, but still has the dramatic stakes that feel entirely real for the characters, no matter how lighthearted the approach. Plus, it’s built on intensely good chemistry that convinces you of an enduring love. “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” checks all these boxes and works magic as a love letter to classic literature and modern romance. Piani excels at hitting all the rom-com beats, from a love-hate relationship dynamic to a fairytale ending. She also grounds the film by reflecting on how people desire each other in today’s world and how they look for antidotes through works of fiction.
The film’s title playfully speaks to how Austen’s popularity may have “wrecked” Agathe’s perceptions of love and literature in real life. With understandably high expectations, the thought of not flourishing as a writer, not living up to the greats, and not meeting her own Mr. Darcy creates a sense of misplacement and restlessness that are easy to identify. Agathe’s experience at the residency and the various people she meets there (not just Oliver but the fellow writers in her program) leads to a satisfying arc, where she builds onto her voice through conversations on how to evolve in her writing. Is the job of a writer to only tell a good story and spark magic that cannot be found in reality? Or is it to reflect our modern times on a social, political, and economic level? And is there such a thing as finding the “perfect” place to write? As Agathe connects with her voice more, the film explores neat manifestations of what inspires and motivates her to write.
Piani does not shy away from indulging in a little rom-com inspiration in her writing and direction. Agathe’s escape from the residency after a romantic stir and subsequent retreat to a cottage by the sea so that she can focus on writing recalls Colin Firth’s seaside writing sanctuary in Richard Curtis’s “Love, Actually.” The casting of Charlie Anson as Oliver satisfies the appetite for Hugh Grant’s classic rom-com turns. Plus, with hints of inspiration from Alan Rickman’s subtle Colonel Brandon in Ang Lee’s “Sense & Sensibility,” Oliver’s character feels all the more derived from Austen’s imagination. Piani also incorporates more dramatic flair into her otherwise lighthearted direction to emphasize the romantic stakes between her characters, best demonstrated in an incredibly cinematic ballroom sequence wherein Agathe and Oliver connect on a deeper level.
The endearing romance of “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,” while certainly satisfying, is the cherry on top of this story. The main source of fulfillment is the creative journey that Agathe embarks on for herself and the internal work she must do to turn over a new page in life. Having reached a point of stagnancy at home, she accepts the residency, hoping that the picturesque English countryside (not to mention Austen’s literal estate) would inspire her to progress with her new book. But the seemingly perfect location opens doors to dry spells and messier places, where inspiration can still be drawn. As Oliver suggests to her, “Writing is like ivy…it needs ruins to exist. Look for your ruins.” It’s a refreshing narrative to engage with and can surely resonate among writers who feel restless in figuring out the clarity of their voices.
“Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” feels destined to become a quintessential Austen-adjacent classic. The film lives up to its playful title with a thoughtful blend of the author’s sense and sensibility. While capturing the essence of Austen’s voice, Piani makes her voice clear in a remarkably confident feature debut that harkens to the golden age of rom-coms. This genre can be a balm for the soul, a fictional remedy for reality, and Piani knows how to utilize the tropes to tell a delightful story. A lovely reading of Jack Hirschman’s poem “Path” in the film’s second half beautifully sums up what “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” sets out to do and excels at. Agathe’s character arc inspires great writing and celebrates how it can come from the messiest parts of ourselves.
