Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (Jane Austen a gâché ma vie) is not your average rom-com nor your average dose of literary cottagcore. It follows Agathe (Camille Rutherford), an awkward, aspiring writer from Paris invited to spend two weeks at a writers’ retreat in England held by Jane Austen’s distant relatives, a strange event that she needs to pull her out of her slump — in writing and in life. What could be a basic struggling artist’s journey of self-discovery and inspiration has many nuances and idiosyncrasies, making for a thoroughly off-the-beaten-path narrative that provokes thought despite some minor loose threads.
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life Is Led By A Perfectly Awkward, Grounded Protagonist

Like So Many Of Us, Agathe Is Just Stuck

Camille Rutherford brings to life the quirky, fluttery, romantic, and perpetually unsure nature of Agathe Robinson, who works at the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris and writes the beginning chapters of books she never finishes. She just seems to be looking for something more. She doesn’t even apply to the Jane Austen Residency herself — her best friend and co-worker Félix (Pablo Pauly) sends in her writing without her knowing. Rutherford conveys an underrated duality where we recognize that Agathe probably comes across as an average young woman to everyone else, but we can tell how unconfident she feels.

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However, she is also assertive in the burgeoning relationships with the love interests of this movie, in a not-overplayed love triangle. Pablo Pauly as Félix is also a performance that strikes a fine balance; he is Agathe’s loving best friend, but she also knows he is not a great boyfriend, and after some false starts to a romantic relationship, she needs to get out. Oliver (Charlie Anson), the son of the couple hosting the writers’ retreat, could not be more of a Jane Austen drama star — he is vaguely alluring and initially stuck-up, with some good banter with Agathe.
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life Breathes Its English & French Settings

Agathe Ponders Life & Literature In Famous Parisian Bookshops & Tranquil English Woods

If I were to criticize Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, I would say that its story is so small-scale that it is meaningless, but this is entirely the point. It is a slice-of-life narrative that looks into the psyche of someone ordinary who happens to be in some extraordinary locales, making a quiet impact. The movie was all filmed in France, with the writers’ retreat happening at an unspecified English countryside household. But it soaks up everything it can from the filming locations.

However, even in legendary spaces, Agathe is stumped.

As Agathe goes from cycling through the streets of Paris to walking through the woods around her hosts’ house, the cinematography doesn’t miss any chances to show how beautiful these places are. Paired with this movie’s slower pace and less direct approach, it is the cinematic equivalent of a peaceful environment in which to make art. However, even in legendary spaces, Agathe is stumped. It takes going somewhere else (also beautiful) to sort out her thoughts.
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life Is Very Subtle With Its Depiction Of Being Obsessed With Fiction

Agathe Shows Us The Meaning Of Wanting A Good Love Story

I’ve seen movies and shows before that focus on a protagonist who would rather be in a world of fiction than reality, often manifesting in a passion for D&D and a number of collectibles, but the way Jane Austen Wrecked My Life approaches this is far more understated, perhaps even too subtle. Agathe doesn’t spend an inordinate amount of time talking about Jane Austen, but the great writer’s presence is felt nonetheless. Enticing fantasy moments and a Regency-themed ball illustrate Agathe’s desire for something more than mundane reality.

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Agathe wants to be more than an introverted, struggling writer who never leaves her home city and can’t get her love life off the ground. So, as she extrapolates in a conversation about the meaning of literature, she turns to it for a spark. However, as supporting characters in this movie are shown to be facing their own realistic struggles, the story touches on the idea of going back to the source of real-life pain to fuel fiction rather than using fiction to escape from it.

Enticing fantasy moments and a Regency-themed ball illustrate Agathe’s desire for something more than mundane reality.

The opening scene of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is a strange masterpiece that contrasts with the rest of the movie’s more classical tones, hitting exactly the right notes. It’s shot strategically to impart the experience of being lost in a bookish Parisian fantasy, with a Jane Austen biography placed in the first shot. I fell in love with Agathe at that moment, so I was invested in the rest of her story. Overall, this movie is soft in its Jane Austen fandom, but the yearning that underlies it is tangible.

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

8/10

Release Date

January 22, 2025

Runtime

98 minutes

Director

Laura Piani

Writers

Laura Piani

Producers

Gabrielle Dumon

Camille Rutherford

Agathe

Pros & Cons

A nuanced exploration of the relationship between fiction and reality
The protagonist is grounded and personable as she strives to find her voice and navigates a more realistic love triangle
Good use of locales and music to elevate the story and themes

Can potentially come across as redundant if you?re not invested in specific discourses