Based on the title alone, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life could lament how high a bar for romance the eponymous author set with her famed novels and, as such, how disappointing dating in the modern world can be when you swipe right hoping for a Mr. Darcy, but end up with a Mr. Deadbeat.
Another reading, through the lens of creative pursuit, shows how a writer, inspired by Austen's wit and style, dreams of success and longevity in the craft, only to feel burdened and blocked by a self-imposed pressure for greatness.
Writer-Director Laura Piani explores both of these sentiments through Agathe (Camille Rutherford), a 30-something bookstore owner in a small town in France experiencing a sort of romantic and creative standstill. A car accident from two years prior, which killed her parents, has effectively left her somewhat fearful of the world — she can't write like she used to, and she hasn't been able to let anyone new into her life.
All this changes when her best friend Félix (Pablo Pauly) submits some rough chapters of a new story she's been toying with to the Jane Austen Residence, a two-week writers retreat in the English countryside. Having gained admission to this prestigious program, Agathe must venture out of her comfort zone. During the retreat she meets Oliver (Charlie Anson), a descendant of Austen herself, who proves to be as irksome as he is enticing.
Invoking Austen in a modern romance can often be a set-up for failure, but Piani succeeds in her homage to the famed writer. There's a certain charm to her script, particularly in the push and pull relationship between Agathe and Oliver, that feels reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice. However, to Piani's credit, she allows the story to breathe on its own, never being burdened by Austenian conventions.
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life operates as a quiet character study of a woman returning to herself — not completely or perfectly, because life and trauma don't work that way, but inspiring nonetheless. Rutherford is sublime as Agathe, eliciting laughter with quirky physical comedy but also unafraid to dive into the darker corners of her character's psyche.
A cast of talented actors support Rutherford, relishing in Piani's ability to write characters that feel equal parts larger than life and grounded and nuanced. If there's any criticism, it would be that 97 minutes is not enough time with some of them, specifically the other writers at the retreat. Nevertheless, it would be remiss not to extend praise to Pauly and Anson who, as Félix and Oliver, respectively, raise the stakes of their love triangle with Agathe. Each is effortlessly charming, and their individual chemistry with Rutherford would make Austen herself proud.
Ultimately, this film feels like a nod to a dying endeavour of romance. Not only is this type of rom-com, which bleeds from the same vein as the greats of the 2000s, a dying genre, but on a grander scale, this type of romantic pursuit feels like a bygone era. Between dating apps leaving single people at the mercy of algorithms and, most recently, AI being available in those apps to essentially flirt on the users' behalf, we seem to be slowly forgetting that the best aspect of romance is taking part in the action itself. That's why it's called falling in love — you have to tumble head-first into it.
Go see Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, if only because it might soon be the last of its kind.