Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

I’m glad to say this is not yet another re-working of one of Jane Austen’s books, with a modern-day heroine being too quick to judge a moody but honorable Darcy and too slow to judge a superficially charming but immoral Wickham. Instead, it is not Elizabeth Bennett Agathe (Camille Rutherford) despairs of becoming; it is Austen herself.

Agathe works at the legendary Shakespeare and Co, the English-language bookstore in Paris, but she dreams of being a writer. Okay, there is some initial hostility leading to attraction here, though none of Austen’s heroines accidentally walked stark naked into the bedroom of a man she’d just met. But as people in Paris might say, “Autres temps, autres mœurs.”

She has written some chapters — a romance, of course — but the trauma of losing her parents in a car accident and her own insecurity keep her from making any progress. She also cannot ride in a car, move out of her sister’s apartment, or begin a romantic relationship of her own. When her co-worker and best friend Felix (Pablo Pauly) submits an application in her name to a “Jane Austen” writer’s retreat, she begins to take the steps to move forward with her work and with her life. Rutherford makes Agathe very appealing and the screenplay by director Laura Piani, has warmth and charm. There is even a discussion about the value of stories that connected to Austen’s defense of the novel in Northanger Abbey.

The retreat is run by a warm-hearted but slightly eccentric couple, Beth (Liz Crowther) and Todd (Alan Fairbairn). We do not spend much time with the other writers at the retreat except to see that they are all writing while Agnethe is not.

Like Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, Marianne in Sense and Sensibility, Catherine in Northanger Abbey, and Anne in Persuasion, Emma in Emma, and Fanny in Mansfield Park, Agathe has to decide between two archetypical romantic possibilities. Will it be the friends-to-lovers Felix, who kisses her when he drops her off at the retreat? Agathe worries that he will “breadcrumb” her, alternating leading her on and ignoring her. Or will it be the enemies-to-lovers Oliver (Charlie Anson), the son of the couple who run the retreat who is a professor of contemporary literature and clashes with her immediately and then accidentally sees her naked?

Rutherford is an appealing heroine and the story is gently told, respectful of Agathe’s difficulty in recovering from trauma. While the romantic resolution is satisfying, it is not the solution, but rather a reflection of the courage and determination Agathe has relied on in addressing the issues that keeping her stuck. Miss Austen would approve.

Parents should know that this movie has nudity, non-explicit sexual situations, and sexual references. Characters drink, smoke, and use strong language.

Family discussion: Why did Agathe and her sister react so differently to the loss of their parents? Which man did you think Agathe would end up with and why?

If you like this, try: “Austenland” with Keri Russell, and of course Jane Austen’s books and the many movie adaptations