Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (2025 | France | 98 minutes | Laura Piani)
Jane Austen has dominated the cinematic sphere for decades, inspiring everything from faithful period adaptations to quirky modern retellings—and even films that make Austen herself the object of obsession. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is the latest installment in the seemingly endless Austen Boom, loosely riffing on Pride & Prejudice while fostering an easy kinship with its Austen-devoted protagonist, much like Keri Russell’s Jane Hayes in Austenland (2013) or Lily James’s bookish dreamer in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018).
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life centers on Agathe (Camille Rutherford), a 30-something aspiring romance writer who spends her time working at the renowned Paris bookstore Shakespeare and Company instead of writing. When Agathe’s best friend Félix (Pablo Pauly)—a surprisingly lovable womanizer—gets his hands on her manuscript, he sends it to the Jane Austen Residency in England, securing Agathe a coveted spot at the writing retreat.
In true Pride & Prejudice fashion, one of the first people Agathe meets at the retreat is Oliver (Charlie Anson), a crotchety literature professor who also happens to be Jane Austen’s descendant (to his regret). It’s clear Oliver is destined to be the Mr. Darcy to Agathe’s Elizabeth, but debut writer/director Laura Piani skillfully keeps the focus on Agathe’s writing aspirations rather than dedicating too much time early on to her romantic interests (or lack thereof).
Set against the dreamy, literature-soaked landscapes of Paris and the English countryside, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life embraces a warm, airy visual style. The costume design subtly evokes Austen’s world without veering into full Regency cosplay.
Creating a film so reliant on Jane Austen’s legacy inevitably keeps Piani in her shadow. While Rutherford gives Agathe a gentle charm, Piani’s script often renders her too passive, presenting her more as a quirky vessel of potential than as a woman fully coming into her own. Unlike Elizabeth Bennet or Emma Woodhouse, Agathe isn’t given the narrative space to act boldly—her growth is more suggested than realized.
Still, the film wears its influences lightly and offers a welcome return to the rom-com energy of the late ’90s and early 2000s. It’s a cozy watch for literary types and romantics alike. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life gives us a relatable everywoman who stumbles through her flaws and fantasies with understated grace, ultimately discovering that the most enduring romance might just be with her own voice.
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is now playing in theaters, including a run at the SIFF Uptown.
Image courtesy of Sony Classics.