Agathe Robinson is beset by two classic problems: horrible writer’s block and a woeful inability to find a good man. No wonder she’s so wild about Jane Austen. But, despite the title of Laura Piani’s fresh romantic comedy “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,” the heroine of this story isn’t totally at the mercy of the beloved Regency-era author’s work.
Her problems might be classic, and very much like the kind pulled out of “Emma” or “Pride and Prejudice,” but Piani doesn’t push too hard to make Agathe’s (Camille Rutherford) experiences fit firmly inside an Austenian plot, and the result is less outright homage than sprightly companion. That doesn’t stop Agathe from announcing early on that she’s “not living in the right century!”
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Though, given what this century has thrown at her, we can hardly argue with such a statement. In Piani’s film, the filmmaker’s feature directorial debut and already a hit in her native France (the film is in both French and English, with subtitles), Agathe’s life has been drenched in tragedy (keep your ears up for her heartbreaking explanation of why she’s terrified of cars) and disappointment (again, writer’s block and bad men). She’s mostly content to float along, whiling away her days working at the beloved Paris bookstore Shakespeare and Company, trying to write her own stories, and spending time with her fuckboy best friend Félix (Pablo Pauly).
Yet, there is a still a streak of whimsy to Agathe, who conjures up one hell of a fantasy while eating alone at local Chinese restaurant. The idea the experience sparks — a titillating rendezvous with the naked man at the bottom of her sake glass, Jane would never — is enough to kickstart her writing, at least to spit out some very promising pages. And while both Agathe and the audience are often left wondering about the motivations of finicky Félix (Agathe calls him a “breadcrumber,” which is indeed a classier way of accusing someone of repeatedly leading the ladies on), he does do her one solid: he submits her new story to a Jane Austen writing retreat, whose founders go simply nuts for it.
Suddenly, Agathe’s little life seems on the cusp of changing. So what’s this about wrecking?
Enter: the Jane Austen retreat. Run by married Austen aficionados Todd (Alan Fairbairn) and Beth (Liz Crowther), the pair can boast a lovely country retreat, the means to put on a delightful end of season ball, and little in the way of actual professional promises. Oh, and they’ve got a very frown-y son (Charlie Anson as Oliver) who doesn’t take entirely kindly to Agathe upon their first, ill-fated meeting. You can guess where this goes.
Except, the joy of “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” is that you might, well, not.
Yes, Agathe gets caught up in a love triangle with the dopey but appealing Félix and the perma-mad but very alluring Oliver, and of course her writer’s block ebbs and flows, all of it bolstered by the positively Regency-perfect surroundings, but there’s more to it. Piani, who also wrote the film’s script, weaves in compelling ruminations on family troubles, self-actualization, llamas (yes), and even the creeping threat of old age and illness. Agathe might consider herself to be a modern Anne Elliot, but the world has moved on from the time of “Persuasion” (and 27-year-old “spinsters”), and Piani gently nudges her film to do the same.
While many of the beats of Austen’s classics are well-represented here (we did mention the love triangle and the ball, right?), Piani is just as interested in excavating Agathe’s emotions independent of romance, placing just as much import on self-reflection, emotional health, mental well-being, and the success of her chosen profession. Rutherford is an appealing leading lady, able to marry both Agathe’s seeming awkwardness (and some most excellent bits of physical humor) and her deep introspection into something fresh and flinty.
Still, Austen fans might balk a bit at how much this one goes off-script into its own territory, but the spirit of Austen runs deep. After all, what’s more Austenian than making the main event a story about a woman living life on her own terms?
Grade: B
Sony Pictures Classics will release “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” in select theaters on Friday, May 23, with a wide release to follow on Friday, May 30.
