JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE
(Check out Chris Reed’s Jane Austen Wrecked My Life movie review. The film hit theaters Friday, May 23. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
Given the title, it should not surprise that writer-director Laura Piani’s debut feature, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, repurposes many classic romantic dramedy tropes. Starring Camille Rutherford (Anatomy of a Fall) as Agathe, a Parisian bookseller and aspiring novelist whose last relationship was many years ago, the movie proves equal parts silly and touching. It’s often a bit clumsy, too, but then again, so is love.
Agathe works at Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookstore located in Paris’ Left Bank district, where she looks at notes left on the wall by visitors and dreams that they speak to her. “I don’t live in the right century,” she tells her bestie, Felix (Pablo Pauly, Three Days and a Life), something of a Lothario, though a loyal friend. It is he who, without her knowing, submits Agathe’s work-in-progress manuscript to a Jane Austen residency in England.
When Agathe receives the letter inviting her across the pond, she at first refuses to go. We’ll learn, later, the reason why, but she hates getting in a car. Nevertheless, she eventually succumbs to Felix’s pressure and allows him to chauffeur her to the ferry, where they share an unexpected kiss.
On the other side, Agathe is met by Oliver (Charlie Anson, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, doing his best impression of Hugh Grant), a descendent of Jane Austen and the son of the couple who run the writer’s retreat. Unfortunately, Oliver and Agathe do not hit it off. He hates the work of his great aunt (add a few more greats) and she in turn finds him arrogant, a fact she mentions to her sister on a phone call home.
As are most of the people in the movie, Oliver is bilingual, and so understands the insult. His car then breaks down, and these two unhappy new acquaintances must spend the night side by side. Is this a prelude to an eventual reconciliation and, perhaps, more?
Not so fast! We’re just at the beginning. There’s a lot of character-building and gentle humor ahead. Plus, the narrative primarily centers on Agathe discovering who she is and what she wants. She may be an adult, but she still has a lot of growing to do.
Composer Peter von Poehl keeps the soundtrack on musical target, channeling earlier films like Dirty Dancing and In the Mood for Love, his tunes—bolstered by the occasional pre-existing song—manage to support the story without overwhelming it. If Piani doesn’t ever manage the same nuance in her script, she still pulls off some engaging set pieces and genuinely moving moments, even throwing in a cameo at the end from a certain famous filmmaker. It’s no Jane Austen, but an enjoyable-enough homage.
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)
Laura Piani; Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
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