Filmmakers have been mining writer Jane Austen’s novels for screenplay material for decades. You can go all the way back to 1940 for the deluxe Hollywood studio version of Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” which starred Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier and was co-written for MGM by no less a literary lion than Aldous Huxley.
The scintillating 1995 comedy “Clueless,” with Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd, is one of the brightest movies rooted in a work by Austen, based as it is on her novel “Emma.” There is even a 2007 biographical film about Austen titled “Becoming Jane.” The celebrated writer’s other beloved novels are “Sense and Sensibility,” “Mansfield Park,” “Persuasion,” and “Northanger Abbey.”
We now have a new romantic comedy centered on a young woman’s passion for Austen as both a novelist and a person. “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” is currently playing in theaters, including in metro Buffalo-Niagara at the North Park.
The main character is Agathe, an introspective young woman who works at the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore on the left bank of the River Seine at 37 rue de la Bucherie. The multi-storied English-language shop has a magical view of Notre Dame Cathedral and is jammed with books new and used. When you visit, be sure to leave a note to a friend or love interest on the mirror near one of the flights of narrow stairs.
As the camera lingers on the shelves, it connects very briefly on a novel by Austen, and the story begins its wonderful flight of fancy. Agathe is a novice writer, who feels as if she is from a completely different era. She is a romantic at heart; however, in the movie’s modern world, her standards for love seem unrealistic. Camille Rutherford is superb as the heroine of what is both an earnestly intelligent, as well as a delightfully whimsical film.
Agathe lives with her free-spirited sister Mona and her young son Tom. She hasn’t been on a date in years, whereas Mona is out almost every night. Agathe stays practically cloistered in Paris and avoids riding in cars. There is a reason for this that you will discover. To get around, she rides a bicycle and spends much of her time reading and attempting to write. Everyone seems to like Agathe, most assuredly more than she likes herself. She never has any trouble starting a novel. The problem is that can’t quite finish writing it. Her latest effort begins with the image of a man she sees at the bottom of her teacup. There are strong elements of Austen in Agathe’s life and in her romantic writing. The key word to describe her is that she is reluctant in all moods and decisions.
She’s unaware that a loyal coworker named Felix (an effervescent Pablo Pauly), who has an oversized romantic crush on her, has read the chapters of her unfinished book and submitted the pages to the prestigious Jane Austen Society Writers’ Residency in England. When a letter of acceptance arrives, she is stunned, but not angry. There’s almost a coldly unemotional shield keeping her from dealing with reality. All of Agathe’s self-doubts rise up. She doesn’t want to leave her daily comfort zone and certainly doesn’t want to travel. The eager and irrepressible Felix is determined that she sets out for the English countryside.
Written and directed by Laura Piani, whose first feature this is, “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” unveils characters eagerly willing to talk about writing, books, romance, ambition, and a sense of one’s place in the world. When the ferry boat docks in France, Agathe is met by Oliver (a perfect Charlie Anson). He is the officious son of the elderly couple who run the residency and own the country manor in which it takes place. Although he’s not a fan of Austen’s writing, he has returned home from the university at which he no longer teaches As judgmental as he is, regarding both people and books, he is, in fact, Austen’s great-great-great-great nephew.
The rules at the residency are relaxed – you don’t even have to write, you can just think and take walks in the woods. And perhaps encounter a pair of llamas along the way. After the two-week residency is over, there will be a lovely ball with dancing and drinking and moments to be surprised. Agathe faces a conundrum right out of Austen. The brooding Oliver has definitely attracted her interest, but does she have the energy for a romance? Truth be told, she will need to go back to Paris. However, is Felix the type of person to whom she wants to return? The audience finds itself rediscovering the often sweet, sometimes complicated romantic entanglements that are the mainstay of good motion pictures for generations.
Agathe believes she is truly living in the wrong era. It’s the 19th century that wraps itself around her imagination. People believe they can be blunt with her and make straightforward comments to her face probably because they recognize that she loathes confrontations. At one point, a flustered Felix says to her: “You’re scared of suffering, love affairs, one-night stands. You’re scared of apps. You’re scared. You don’t live. You just hide.” A shrill writing teacher verbally attacks her harshly, saying: “You churn out cheap romances. It couldn’t hurt to try something else. You need to be in tune with the times.” Agathe is a sensitive person, and she is affected by remarks such as these. She has an emotional vulnerability to hearing what some people believe is true about her.
Through it all, “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” never loses a creative step. It feels refreshing because it doesn’t belittle its colorful characters. It lets them live and breathe. The film builds to a proper conclusion and your acceptance of it will be based on your feelings for Agathe. Should she choose Felix or Oliver? Or neither. Does one of the men actually make the most romantic sense? I was delighted by the ending. Director Piani has made a thoughtful romance with strong insights into love. Her film looks wonderful because of Pierre Mazoyer’s beautiful cinematography. At one point, Agathe compares herself to the character of Anne Elliot from Austen’s “Persuasion,” saying she’s “an old maid who has wilted like a flower in need of water.” Happily, Piani offers plenty of water for the truths being told.