The Modern Day Jane Austen

Last September, I (accidentally) got the honour of being at the world premiere of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (2025) written and directed by Laura Piani. And finally it is coming to theatres in North America on May 23rd! So I am here today to share some of my thoughts on the movie and to encourage any/all Austen fans or lovers of rom-coms to go see Jane Austen Wrecked My Life.

A Short Synopsis

Our main character, Agathe Robinson, is an aspiring writer, lover of Jane Austen (obviously), who works in a bookshop in Paris. She is given the opportunity to go to a writing residency put on by the heirs of Austen in England, where chaos and love ensue.

As an Austen-loving, writer, book nerd, and hopeless romantic Agathe is unfortunately relatable. When she is working in the bookstore she recommends getting into Austen by starting with Sense & Sensibility, which I agree with because it's what I did! And Piani makes Agathe's writing fantasy come to life which also hits close to home as someone who loves to daydream to work through some of my fiction writing. Overall, Agathe is imbued with this funny, kind of awkward personality of not only many Austen characters but also great rom-com protagonists in general.

"I Think She's Like The Funniest Writer Ever"

What's it like to be the modern day Jane Austen? I don't know, but Laura Piani does. I think this movie has all of the great markers of an Austen story including a smart and well-rounded heroine, duelling (not literally... sadly) love interests, some misunderstandings of character, and a hilarious cast of surrounding characters.

One of the most Austenian parts in the confession of love at the end! Without spoiling too much of the story I'll just say that it not only quotes Austen, but is also made through a letter. Decidedly a confession in a letter is very Austen, as seen in Pride & Prejudice, famously, and a confession of love in a letter is seen in Persuasion.

And not only is the film very Austen-y but I feel like it was the first rom-com I've seen in a while that has felt like it put the rom and com back into rom-com. Before seeing the film, I was watching a video essay by Mina Le titled: "why aren't romcoms 'romantic' anymore". I will admit that I'm not the biggest rom-com lover or watcher but I personally thought that this was because I don't find a lot of them funny. When there are jokes made they're usually cheap, sometimes cringe worthy jokes but not in Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. There are some classic rom-com gags however, I feel like they were executed well and with good writing backing them I feel like we finally got a rom-com that was equally as romantic and comedic. And this play between romance and comedy is something in all of Austen's own works, which I think is truly what makes Jane Austen Wrecked My Life one of my favourite new movies.

So mark your calendars! If there is a theatre near you playing Jane Austen Wrecked My Life I cannot recommend going out and seeing it enough!