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Writer's pictureDeborah Yaffe

Sounds familiar

By now, we’ve had so many movies in which a youngish, female Jane Austen fan discovers that her modern-day romantic life is somehow mixed up with her idol’s stories—see under, e.g., Lost in Austen (2008), Austenland (2013), Love & Jane (2024), and An American in Austen (2024)—that this trope probably qualifies as an entire romcom subgenre.

 

But I never turn down more Jane Austen, in whatever form, so I was delighted to learn that next week, the Toronto International Film Festival will begin screening Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, a French-made romcom in which a youngish, female Jane Austen fan “finds herself in the sort of romantic entanglements that could come from the pages of a Jane Austen novel.” The title sounds even better in the original, as Jane Austen a gâché ma vie.

 

The film is the debut feature of French screenwriter-director Laura Piani. It features some familiar story elements, including a heroine who is both a bookstore employee and an aspiring writer, a best friend who may be an overlooked Mr. Right, and a “handsome--and haughty” new acquaintance who sounds like a Darcy stand-in. Will she pick Best Friend or Enticing Stranger? (Could go either way, but my money is on Best Friend.)

 

If you’re betting that this will be on Netflix by Christmas--well, I am too. And I will be watching, no matter how well-worn the premise may be.

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