Edhat Reader
By Lee Heller
Thanks to the generosity of Edhat, I was given a chance to attend the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) opening night film screening of a charming Franco-Anglo romp somewhat deceptively titled “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life.” As an academic manque who had taught 19th century literature, I couldn’t resist the offer of free tickets, and I’m glad I didn’t.
The premise of this sweet, witty, funny film involves Agathe, a thirty-something literary type who works in a bookstore, where she lovingly shelves books, and on the side writes ‘cheap’ romance novels, as her editor describes them. Agathe, who lives a sedate life with her sexually adventurous sister and 6 year old nephew, is still recovering from the car accident that killed both of her parents six years earlier and left her terrified of cars (a plot point never really developed).
At one point, when her fellow bookstore employee and best friend Felix asks which characters from Austen novels they would be, she identifies as Jane Elliott, the ‘dried up’ disappointed spinster in Persuasion. It’s pretty clear from this set-up that we are in a modern version of an Austen story, and that a happy-ending outcome is assured.
The plot kicks into gear when Agathe learns that Felix had sent some of her secret, more literary writing into a contest and won her two weeks in a Jane Austen Residency in rural England. Perhaps this is where we are supposed to think that Austen will ruin her life, as she is launched on an unexpected and unwanted adventure, navigating frightening car and boat rides, a strange driver, and a house full of quirky fellow Austenians. If you know your Austen, you know that there will be a love interest, there will be initial tension or obstacles, and at the end, the heroine will find her match.
I’d indicate a spoiler alert here, but anyone who watches romantic comedies or has seen any film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice will immediately recognize that match in Oliver, the somewhat cynical literature professor who picks Agathe up at the ferry dock, and with whom she initially spars. There’s a very Pride and Prejudice moment when Agathe makes critical comments about his arrogance and pridefulness in a voicemail to her sister, only to discover that Oliver, standing nearby, speaks French. That’s an early tip-off that, despite comparing herself to Jane Elliott, Agathe is really Lizzy Bennett from Austen’s best known novel.
The rest of the movie offers us an array of Austen-like characters – the daffy father who wanders around without trousers, the scornful self-important intellectual, and so on. They are amusing, if predictable. Meanwhile, Oliver, inevitably, becomes more interested, interesting, and sympathetic. Agathe, briefly distracted by Felix as an alternative love interest (again, think Pride and Prejudice), finally lands where we know she will – and finds the match that is the only insurance, in a Jane Austen novel, of an unwrecked life.
Is the film great art? Not exactly. Is it well made, visually appealing, and fun? Absolutely. And at a moment when the world feels very complicated, dark and scary, it’s a relief to disappear into a modern-day Austen romance, where social issues loom small and personal happiness in the arms of the right partner is not just possible, but inevitable.
About the Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is a celebrated venue for independent and international cinema. Over its 40-year history, SBIFF has grown into one of the leading film festivals in the United States, known for its commitment to community education and the arts. The festival not only showcases world-class filmmaking but also supports educational initiatives aimed at students and underserved communities within Santa Barbara County. For detailed information on films and events featured at the festival, please visit SBIFF’s official website.
Thanks, Lee. Glad it was you to describe the film I was curious about.