Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (2024)

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life gets its romance rolling when Agathe spots a man’s face at the bottom of a sake cup, and the movie stays about that subtle the whole way. It’s a love triangle drawn from the old map: the sweet best friend back home, the stuffy Englishman abroad, guess who wins. Camille Rutherford’s Agathe works the shelves at Shakespeare and Company in Paris, pedals everywhere, and is stuck on her novel. Her pal Félix submits the manuscript to a writers’ retreat in England behind her back, and the man who collects her at the ferry is Oliver, a distant Austen relative. They spend the first night in a broken-down car, right after she trashes him in French, sure he can’t follow. He can. The Regency costume ball is the best scene. Critics called it a throwback in the best sense, with an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 6.6 because it’s smart and sincere about a formula it never escapes. $266 says you check the bottom of your next empty teacup for a face.

What works: Camille Rutherford makes Agathe funny and prickly, and the Regency ball and the English countryside give it real old-school rom-com charm.

What doesn’t: The love triangle follows the oldest map in the genre, so you know exactly where Agathe is headed long before she does.

Who it’s for: Book lovers who reread Pride and Prejudice every winter and want a rom-com that respects the habit.