While the title may indicate that Jane Austen wrecked the life of Agathe (played by Camille Rutherford), the protagonist in Laura Piani’s Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, watching the film you get that Agathe’s love of Jane Austen is pure and that neither Jane Austen nor her work has held Agathe back but, rather it is trauma from an accident Agathe was in that took that lives of her parents. And yes, there is trauma in the backstory. However, the film is a delicious rom-com that centers on a writer, book shop owner, and Jane Austen enthusiast, who has a deeply intimate but so far platonic relationship with her male best friend Felix (played by Pablo Pauly), who takes it upon himself to submit her unfinished writing to the Jane Austen Residency, which she gets accepted into – there she meets Oliver (played by Charlie Anson) – a great-great-great-grand-nephew (or something like that) of Jane Austen, who does not think much of Jane Austen or her work. As I’m sure you can guess these are the pieces for the classic workings of a Jane Austen work or a rom-com – a love triangle.
The film is peppered with a rich humour, and both leans into and upends the conventions of the rom-com to great effect. The film was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for North American distribution (amongst some other territories), and it is not surprising, because people are always looking for new twists on rom-coms that feel both familiar and different – and this is a film that does that. This film easily became one of my festival favourites because it easily balanced that tone leading to many laughs.
While the film is set in the present, it fully embraces the aesthetics you expect from a Jane Austen film. There are plenty of scenes with soft lighting or in nature. As part of the writers’ residency, there is a period ball, complete with gowns, candles, and dancing. But there was one scene, in particular, that I felt fully set the tone for bridging the present with the Jane Austen vibe, both on film and emotionally. It’s a simple scene of Agathe sitting in front of the fireplace, illuminated by its glow. Then Oliver enters and looks at her from the entranceway, in the shadows. And they do a good job of playing the will-they won’t-they cross that divide, with stares that say more than they speak. It is a beautiful shot, and one that fits in 2024 but would not be out of place in the late 18th century.
This is a film that really focuses on the protagonist, Agathe, and her two potential love interests, Oliver and Felix. There is some time spent with her family at the start of the film; you also get to know Oliver’s family because they run the writers’ residency. But the other characters are periphery. Everything outside of the triangle is periphery. This is good for creating a very focused and tight narrative with a run time of just over 90 minutes. But it did leave me even wondering if one of the people in the writers’ residency disappeared. The other writers in the residency get screen time, each has a little intro where we hear an excerpt from what they are writing, but other than one writer who gets into a heated debate with Agathe, we don’t really get to know the rest and they served mostly as bodies so it would not just be Agathe invited to the house.
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life had its World Premiere at the 49th annual Toronto International Film Festival in the Centerpiece section.
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