Back in 2013, Director Jerusha Hess brought to life the silly world of Shannon Hale’s novel Austenland. In it, Jane Hayes (Keri Russell), a 30-something fangirl for the works of Jane Austen, travels to a British resort themed to the author’s iconic romances. While living out her fantasies, she finds herself discovering both the highs and lows of being an Austen era heroine. From dressing in stunning period-specific costumes to battling wits with a hunky grump, Jane goes through the usual rom-com struggles while also uncovering what makes her special deep in her nerdy core. Was it a perfect film? No. But was it an adaptation embraced by a niche group (including yours truly) that’s still beloved to this day.
Camille Rutherford as Agathe in JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. © Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Now, some 12 years later, it’s hard to not find similarities to Hess’s Austenland in Laura Piani’s debut bilingual romance, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. Both feature a mid-30s protagonist unlucky in finding love who ends up attracted to a scruffy individual and a Darcy-type, who ends up escaping to a secluded countryside to embrace the ideals of Austen’s work. Yet, despite these similarities, what makes Piani’s film a unique rom-com experience are the mature, desaturated details sprinkled within the more conventional narrative elements of this offbeat tale.
L-R: Pablo Pauly as Felix and Camille Rutherford as Agathe in JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. © Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Piani’s movie centers around Agathe Robinson (Camille Rutherford), a Jane Austen-loving bookseller who has dreams of becoming a writer and falling into an old-fashioned romance. Inspired by a daydream inside of a Pan Asian restaurant, Agathe secretly begins to write an imaginative story she’s nervous to share. But when Agathe’s flirty best friend Félix (Pablo Pauly) sends her first chapters to a Jane Austen Writing Residency, our leading lady’s life turns from ordinary to chaotic. Not only does she have to conquer her PTSD-level anxieties of being in a car, but she also has to tackle her imposter syndrome and other personal hurdles to make her dreams come true. The film then follows Agathe as she travels to the residency, interacts with the handsome-but-curmudgeonly Oliver (Charlie Anson), all the while trying to discover the writer within herself.
In its aesthetic presentation, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life feels like a slice out of a familiar rom-com dish. It’s one part Under the Tuscan Sun (2003), another Midnight in Paris (2011), with some Enchanted April (1991) on top. But underneath the sugary goodness is a movie that matches the mixed origins of its central character as it feels just as much a product of French dramatics as it does British dryness. This description speaks especially to the spectrum of the romantic sequences in the story; some feel cozy and charming while others feel like a bucket of cold reality being splashed all over the top of your cinematic brain. But that isn’t to say that any of these choices are bad, but rather it’s clear that Piani isn’t making a movie for the slumber party crowd. Instead, this filmmaker is speaking to the intellectual, cottagecore girls who look at collages featuring Kiera Knightly more than the next episode of Love Island.
This reality-meets-fantasy parallel can also be found in the film’s two leading romantic interests. Pablo Pauly’s (The French Dispatch) Félix at first comes across like the human version of a croissant in his warm and approachable layered nature. He’s the kind of guy who wants to be everyone’s friend, has a massive assortment of fisherman sweaters, and will Netflix and Chill with you from sunrise to sunset. But even with all of his adoring qualities on paper, there’s an underlying immaturity within the fantasy of Félix that both Pauly and Piani bring to life in scary detail. Because we’ve all known, fallen for, and have a Félix in our lives, and such a familiar figure in a rom-com of this quality is a treasure to behold.
Charlie Anson as Oliver in JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. © Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Oliver, on the other hand, continues in the grand tradition of being a romantic hero who’d rather hide behind a frown than lay his heart on the table. He’s intimidating at first, but the more time you spend with him, the more he puts his shield down. Sure, Oliver is exactly the kind of Darcy-type you’d expect in a movie fueled by Austen’s work, but there’s no denying that Charlie Anson (Death on the Nile) understands his assignment and performs it with flying colors. From his awkward first sequences to his dashing showcase near the third act, it’s clear that Anson studied the Darcys of the past to become a delightful modern interpretation, one that’s the perfect combo of screwball Hollywood charm and Instagram believability. And while some might argue that nothing can top the likes of Matthew Macfadyen (The Assistant), Colin Firth (Love, Actually), or even JJ Field (Ford v Ferrari), Anson definitely needs to be added to the discussion of those who best portrayed this iconic character formula.
Though at the core of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is, of course, Agathe. With her chaotic up-dos and her collection of navy rain coats, Agathe is as far from a rom-com heroine as you could get. Not only does she have a laundry list of flaws and paranoias, she doesn’t contain any of the typical tropes within traditional Hallmark movie protagonists. She’s blunt when others would be reserved, she makes careless mistakes, wears her anxieties on her sleeve, all the while admitting her issues to anyone who will listen. To put simply, she’s the messy chaos gremlin that many Millennial women see themselves as, yet never genuinely see on screen. And though much of her brilliance comes from Piani’s screenplay, Camille Rutherford (Anatomy of a Fall) deserves all the cinematic praise for her portrayal of this fascinating character, because many actresses would have played this role by the book, but Rutherford oozes authenticity in every imperfectly beautiful way.
But perhaps the true unsung hero within Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is music composer Peter Von Poehl (Vanishing Waves). In a cinematic world where rom-com scores feel a dime a dozen, it’s truly something to admire when a composition leaves as memorable an impression as Von Poehl’s work does. Every theme feels carefully crafted and each note adds just the right touch of solace and whimsy to Agathe’s bizarre romantic adventure. Truly, if Hollywood is searching for their next rom-com go-to melody maker, Von Poehl is your guy, and it’s a shame that you can’t find any recording of the soundtrack on any major music streaming services (Sony Pictures Classics, fix this please.).
L-R: Annabelle Lengronne as Cheryl, Liz Crowther as Beth, and Camille Rutherford as Agathe in JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. © Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Yet, even with all of the talents of its cast and crew behind it, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is a project as flawed as its main character. Through its first two acts, it contains a captivating, documentary-like approach which comes across as refreshing amidst a genre drenched in forgettable streaming era romances. But when Piani’s flick enters its final chapter, every fascinating detail feels either dashed to the side or rushed through to get to the traditional rom-com conclusion. From a side plot involving Oliver’s dad to a conflicting relationship between Agathe and a fellow residency writer, any storyline outside of the central love story seems to never reach a satisfying end or add to the film’s central message. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with any of these b-plots, but it’s frustrating to see interesting narrative nuggets included when they don’t add anything to an already interesting indie narrative (especially when they tease a queer angle that would have made the movie even more fascinating by default).
Camille Rutherford as Agathe in JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. © Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Ultimately, if you’re someone invested in the romantic magic of literature, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life certainly won’t let you down. It contains enchanting performances, a fascinating dose of realism, and a creative vision via Piani that has its heart in the right place. But if you’re someone who is looking for a romantic flick that breaks new ground or evokes the same whimsy as other Austen-adjacent material, this one might not check all of your boxes. Yet, rom-com is such a fascinating genre for there is a romantic hat for every head and I’m excited to see which audiences embrace this (much like Austenland) a decade down the line. You can certainly count me among them, flaws and all.
In select theaters May 30th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Sony Pictures Classics Jane Austin Wrecked My Life webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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