‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life’ Review: Cozy Jane Austen-Influenced Rom-Com Marks a Smashing Debut for Laura Piani

TIFF 2024

Sep 10

Preview

🙈 What if we kissed at the Jane Austen house?😳 We had a bit of a romantic rendezvous living our best Victorian-era fantasies where Austen penned Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and her other iconic books. That's what Laura Piani offers in her directorial effort Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, a delightful and witty French rom-com as warm as a cup of tea on a nice wintry day.

**Image credit: Courtesy of TIFF**

NR
**Runtime:** 1 Hr and 34 Minutes
**Production Companies:** Les Films du Veyrier, Sciapode
**Distributor:** Sony Pictures Classics
**Director:** Laura Piani
**Writer:** Laura Piani
**Cast:** Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Charlie Anson, Annabelle Lengronne
**Release Date:** N/A

With no money and no prospects, Agathe (Camille Rutherford), a single, depressed writer with no self-esteem and “hasn’t had a good shag in 2 years” is a book teller working at Shakespeare and Co. in France. Like many writers, she often starts stories and doesn't know how to end them, so she abandons them. Agathe's pursuit of romance is also a flop, as she prefers to have a romantic connection in a 20th-century way rather than one influenced by dating apps. One evening at a sushi bar, Agathe becomes drunkenly compelled to write a new story. Felix (Pablo Pauly), her friend of 10 years and possible love interest, reads and enjoys it. He secretly enters her manuscript into a Jane Austen writer residency program. Reluctant but eventually persuaded, Agathe treks to the U.K. but not before she and Felix share a spontaneous smooch.

When she arrives at the residency, she goes through a rough encounter with her driver, Oliver (Charlie Anson), a Hugh Grant-type who shares a lineage with Austen and lives at the manor. While participating in the residency, Agathe soon finds herself wrestling with her imposter syndrome and rekindling her passion for writing, sometimes with Oliver’s encouragement. At the same time, she finds herself becoming the Austen protagonist she’s always wanted by getting caught in a love triangle between Felix and Oliver.

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life has the sense and sensibility (hehe) of the titular author’s novels – with a hint of Richard Curtis’ rom-coms. Set at Austen's house, which is a flex in itself, Piani demonstrates her deep passion and understanding of the functioning components of her works and uses them to influence her modernized romantic tale.

Piani's central character, Agathe, is an Elizabeth Bennet-type in the shape of a Phoebe Waller-Bridge protagonist: she's lonely, depressed, a bit of an alcoholic, and often facing an existential crisis. Agathe stands out with her relatable affliction with struggling writer syndrome. Actress Camille Rutherford powerfully conveys those traits, representing those who face similar issues. You, too, will be seen by her and understand her every emotion throughout the residency experience, which makes her bubbling romance with her audacious womanizer bestie, Felix, and the charming Mr. Dar–I mean Mr. Lowe, all the more exciting.

Piani’s filmmaking and writing pass all the hallmarks of the screwball rom-com archetypes with a welcoming dry wit, well-written dialogue, and tremendous comedic timing. Any movie that features a protagonist describing themselves as the Palme d’Or of losers is music to my ears.

You can’t go wrong with a Daniel Cleaver and Mr. Darcy (Bridget Jones’s Diary is my Pride and Prejudice) love triangle. However, this film’s Mr. Darcy is a Hugh Grant clone. Charlie Anson, who strolls right onto the screen exuding early Grant energy – rapid blinks, classy accent, and all – is a delightful surprise who steals the show. His and Rutherford's sizzling chemistry sells that enemies-to-lovers trope effortlessly. They get you so invested with their hilarious banter and fleeting glances, and there’s a particular waltz scene straight out of Emma that, by writing retreat standards, is more fantastical than Hogwarts, but had me grinning ear to ear with my heart clenched all the same.

Piani does a phenomenal build-up for most of the second half and you can sense when the fire in her pen starts to fizzle out. Her path to the story’s conclusion doesn’t work well and the ending is far too abrupt. But for a first feature, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life demonstrates Piani’s skill in blending comedy and charm. Plus, it’s a feat for a movie like this to have its cake and eat it too: use the Jane Austen name while deploying an amalgamation of her characters and story techniques. It’s the perfect date night for you and your significant other. Bonus points if they’re a Jane Austen nut.

Led by a charming Camille Rutherford and Charlie Anson, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is a smashing debut from Laura Piani full of delight and dry wit that plays into the tropes and nails it on all fonts. R.I.P Jane Austen, you’d love this shit.