‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life’: Review

Dir/scr: Laura Piani. France. 2024. 94mins

Although no zombies are concerned, the concurrently ribbon-bowed and mud-splattered French function Jane Austen Wrecked My Life nonetheless needs to pay homage to the titular creator whereas additionally making an attempt to do one thing extra Twenty first-century with the largely acquainted materials. Author-director Laura Piani has set herself a formidable problem for her debut function, as this requires the characters to be each old style romantics and feminist-realists, providing escapism but in addition a actuality test. The ensuing gymnastic cut up is sometimes a little bit uncomfortable, but in addition charming in an instantaneous, earthy approach. There may be clearly a marketplace for this sort of romantic comedy-drama, which lately offered to SPC for a number of territories together with US upfront of its Tiff debut.

Camille Rutherford is totally comfy within the lead function

Agathe (Camille Rutherford) works on the well-known Shakespeare & Co bookshop in Paris, although she secretly hopes to sooner or later publish her personal novel. She’s not into courting apps, that are too fashionable and chilly, and prefers to consider that she’ll merely run into the person of her goals in actual life. Her cute colleague, Felix (Pablo Pauly), isn’t that principled — or is it delusional? — and sleeps round, although he additionally spends a suspicious period of time at Agathe’s cramped residence. 

Issues kick into excessive gear when Agathe, after a lot prodding from Felix, accepts an unlikely author’s residency in England organised by the property of Jane Austen. Right here, she is given the chance to work on a brand new novel she has simply began — and which could be the primary she ever finishes. By no means thoughts that the thought for it got here to her at a virtually empty Chinese language restaurant, when a unadorned man on the backside of her cup abruptly sprang to life on the finish of a boozy meal (cue the crimson lights and violin music paying homage to In The Temper For Love). 

Even this early on, it’s clear that Piani is somebody who likes to play with references, whether or not cinematic or literary. It additionally quickly emerges that the fabric’s tone is probably greatest described as barely overcooked kookiness. The explanation it nonetheless principally works is as a result of the actors play it straight, with Rutherford displaying a way of directness that compensates for the sometimes wobbly tonal shifts. The few cases of slapstick, nonetheless, are at all times extra awkward than hilarious.

General, the primary hour zips by due to its fashionable really feel and breezy comedic notes, however the narrative’s closing third feels too reined in. The late shift into extra literal Austen-inspired materials leads to a extra sombre tone and a slowed-down tempo, though it doesn’t assist Piani plumb the required depths of the characters’ emotions to essentially persuade as a romantic drama. A lot of the latter materials hinges on the clearly dashing Oliver (Charlie Anson, Downton Abbey), who’s after all not solely the precise great-great-great-great-nephew of Jane Austen but in addition a rival for Agathe’s affection when Felix decides to indicate up, as he should, for a shock go to to see the place their deep friendship may truly go. 

The selection between the 2 males isn’t the screenplay’s most convincing factor, and there’s little sense of Agathe’s interior turmoil over her choices. That is at the very least partly as a result of there’s no monetary necessity to marry in our day and age – if Agathe’s novel isn’t successful she may simply return to incomes cash on the bookshop. Due to oversights similar to these, the entire story feels extra like a jocular riff on Austen moderately than a completely thought-through up to date replace of it. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life has the nation homes and fancy balls — all achieved successfully on a finances — however not the boiling interior turmoil that makes individuals return to Austen repeatedly.

Rutherford has performed lead roles earlier than in smaller movies however has principally been relegated to supporting roles in main French fare similar to Blue Is The Warmest Color and Anatomy Of A Fall. This function may present her with extra publicity in each the French and English-speaking markets, as she’s fully comfy in each languages (her mom is French however her father is a Brit). It’s largely due to her that audiences will stick with Agathe till the top.