Latest news with #PabloPauly
ABC News
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is a sweet, if predictable, rom-com worth your time
Thirty-something-year-old Parisian bookseller Agathe Robinson (Camille Rutherford, Anatomy of a Fall) is an old soul; a hopeless romantic who isn't interested in "uber sex" but the romantic courtship of a bygone era. The star of Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, (written and directed by Laura Piani), Agathe is an Anglophone who buries herself in classics — Jane Austen chief among them. She also lives, with her sister and nephew, in an emotionally suspended state. An unspecified trauma lies at the heart of Agathe's existence that explains how she came to be this way and, gradually, we find out what the incident is that splintered her life in two. What: A quaint but emotionally slight rom-com with an old-world feel, written and directed by Laura Piani. Starring: Camille Rutherford, Charlie Anson, Pablo Pauly Where: In cinemas now Likely to make you feel: Charmed Agathe is a daydreamer with a penchant for writing love stories in her spare time. The comfortable monotony of her life is up-ended when her womanising co-worker and best friend, Felix (Pablo Pauly) — with whom she shares a platonic if overfamiliar kinship — applies on her behalf to the prestigious Jane Austen Writing Residency in southern England. She's successful, and it changes the course of her life. Agathe suddenly finds herself not only with the luxury of time and a room of her own to write, but she becomes the recipient of two men's affections: Felix, who she spontaneously kisses as she leaves France, and the thorny Oliver (Charlie Anson), the great-great-great-great nephew of Jane Austen herself, who manages the residency. Hijinks ensue in the bucolic greenery of a small England coastal town as the characters oscillate seamlessly between French and English. There are language mishaps, accidental nudity in the vein of The Proposal, and a ball right out of an Austen novel. Agathe is ensconced in an English manor (though the the film was shot entirely in France) straight out of the novels she devours, and is being romanced in the way she so greatly desires — through pithy one-liners, disarming honesty and genteel manners. But there's a snag. Felix surprises Agathe by showing up unannounced right before the ball, and Agathe has a decision to make. There's a little bit of Notting Hill in Agathe's vocation of bookselling (shared with Hugh Grant's William Thacker), though Paris's famed Shakespeare and Company is a more earnestly romantic backdrop than a bookstore that exclusively sells travel books. There's also a bit of Bridget Jones in the tragicomedy of Agathe's love life, and a sprinkling of Emily Henry's Book Lovers in the enemy-to-lovers scenario that plays out in a literary world. The film employs numerous different rom-com tropes but, to its credit, we are constantly kept guessing as to who, if anyone, Agathe will end up with. Much like the character she plays, who has English and French parentage, Rutherford imbues Agathe with an endearing charm as she skulks around the pastoral landscape — incapable of writing as freely as her colleagues do, experiencing nature as a menace rather than a salve. Agathe morphs into the main character of her story, but she's far from an effortlessly cool one. Emotionally dysregulated, awkward, clumsy and abrupt, Agathe has a halting yet elegant way of expressing her thoughts — prone to observing rather than experiencing. She feels like an amalgam of messy rom-com leads of yesteryear — Meg Ryan, Renee Zellweger, Drew Barrymore. Reminiscent of Mr Darcy, Anson is Hugh Grant-lite in his depiction of the prickly and reserved Oliver, while Pauly is roguish as the caddish yet well-meaning Felix. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is at its strongest when it leans into the idiosyncrasies of its colourful cast of characters. Less successful are the overblown metaphors about writing and the confected arguments about the value of literature, though they may well be a mirror to what takes place in residencies. Most accurate would be its portrayal of writing, or perhaps how little writing happens. Agathe's journey of discovery hinges on her creative reclamation of self as much as her ability to dive headfirst into love. When both predictably happen, the pay-off is sweet, yet strangely bathetic.
The Guardian
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life review – witty, well-played French comedy in a Bridget Jones vein
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen has inspired more romcoms than any other author – and nearly all of them feature a modern take on an Austen protagonist, a new Lizzie Bennet or Emma Woodhouse. But this funny and smart French comedy instead gives us a 21st-century Jane Austen. British-French actor Camille Rutherford is terrific as Agathe, an aspiring novelist working in a Paris bookshop who wins a place on a Jane Austen writing retreat run by the author's descendants. 'I'm not living in the right century!' Agathe wails to her best friend and colleague Félix (Pablo Pauly). She's not into dating apps ('I don't want Uber sex!'). But she does have chemistry with Félix (he's a player, but not at Wickham levels of caddishness), and it's Félix who secretly submits Agathe's writing to a Jane Austen society. The comedy takes a bit of an IQ dip when the film crosses the Channel and the dialogue switches to English. Still, it glides along on Rutherford's performance as Agathe – witty, warm, keenly observant, a bit clumsy and Bridget Jones-ish, but never, not even for a moment, cringy. On the retreat, Agathe takes an instant loathing to Austen's great-great-great-nephew Oliver (Charlie Anson); he's a professor of modern literature who loftily proclaims that Austen is overrated. Judgmental, arrogant, and altogether up himself, Oliver is the film's Mr Darcy – though played with too much Hugh Grant to take seriously. You don't have to be an Austen fan to enjoy this film, but it helps. Agathe's dilemma between Oliver and Félix is classic Austen – but Agathe's real discovery is not love, but her writing voice. And that's the point the film makes without trying too hard: new century, same self-pressure and doubt. Here's Agathe on impostor syndrome. 'No – I'm a genuine impostor!' Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is in UK cinemas from 13 June.
Geek Girl Authority
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Movie Review: JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE
Friends, this critic has a cinematic sweet tooth. I grew up in the heyday of the rom-com … the 1990s. Julia Roberts! Hugh Grant! There's such joy in romantic comedies as long as they're done right. There's something captivating in the cinematic wish fulfillment of pure, unadulterated, passionate 'movie love.' As such, when I stumbled on a title like Jane Austen Wrecked My Life , I found myself pulled in immediately. Would the literary rom-com stand alongside classics like Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral ? Or is this 'movie love' simply a one-night stand? About Jane Austen Wrecked My Life Jane Austen Wrecked My Life follows Agathe (Camille Rutherford). While she spends her days working at a Paris bookstore, she has bigger aspirations. She wants to be a writer. However, she's mortified when her co-worker and friend (Pablo Pauly) submits her work to the Jane Austen Writers' Residency. Agathe finds herself in Jane Austen's England and all the romance that it brings. Charlie Anson, Alan Fairbairn, Annabelle Legronne and Liz Crowther co-star in the movie. Laura Piani directs Jane Austen Wrecked My Life from her own script. Friends, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life scratched all my rom-com itches. This film manages to be not only adorably French but also rooted in rom-com culture and deeply inspired by Jane Austen's work. There's a lot here to love if you're a sucker for a good love story. RELATED: Movie Review: Thunderbolts * Powerful Chemistry Much of this is thanks to the powerful chemistry Camille Rutherford shares with romantic co-leads Anson and Pauly. Anson, in particular, brings a beautiful, deep-seated emotionality playing what can best be called the film's Mr. Darcy. Initially, he's cold and a challenge to read. At the same time, though, there's a sensitivity to his bond with Rutherford that becomes all-consuming. I found this particularly evident when, deep in act two, Félix (Pauly) reappears in the narrative and throws a wrench into the relationship. I had previously adored Félix. All of a sudden, though, I couldn't wait for him to move aside for Oliver (Anson). Kids, I was committed to this movie love. Rutherford, meanwhile, is a fascinating choice to play Agathe. For lack of a better descriptor, she's so French. She's effortlessly cool. This results in a push and pull between this rom-com settling where it belongs as wish-fulfillment and some deeper-laid fan-fiction tendencies. This script desperately wants to show us how relatable Agathe is. She's adorably awkward and clumsy. She brings a lot of baggage to the narrative. While I adored Rutherford's work throughout the film, I struggled to see her through this more relatable characterization. I was, instead, more lost in the narrative's fantasy. Bicycling through wet Parisian streets. Working at a small but chic bookstore. Being swept off one's feet by a vaguely aloof British man who's a master of the 'Rom-Com Gaze.' This is a fantasy world, but there's nothing wrong with a little wish fulfillment. Let a girl dream, why don't you? RELATED: Final Destination: Bloodlines Spoiler Review Sweet and Saccharine Ultimately, though, the film's biggest struggle comes in the construction, most notably the camera work. Director Piani struggles to step back and simply let her camera do the talking. Instead, Piani directs with a heavy hand, often weighing sequences down with unnecessary cuts and short takes. There's a beauty to this environment and the interactions among this cast, it's a shame not to be able to sit back and watch it play out. When all is said and done, though, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is just what this critic needed. This is a fluffy, misty bit of rom-com wish fulfillment. This bright and charismatic cast gels in this sweet story to make an enjoyably sappy tale. It's sweet, it's saccharine and it's the perfect fit for rom-com fans out there. Be sure to add this to your lists. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life opens in theaters May 23, 2025. Everything Coming to Netflix in June 2025
Wall Street Journal
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life' Review: Writing and Romancing
Born 250 years ago, Jane Austen remains the reigning queen of the marriage plot and, by extension, the romantic comedy. So if there's something a bit discourteous in the title of writer-director Laura Piani's new rom-com, 'Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,' chalk it up to the anxiety of influence. That supposedly wrecked life belongs to Agathe (Camille Rutherford), a Parisian bookseller at the venerable Shakespeare and Company on the Left Bank. There, she guides new readers to old books, Austen's especially, and has an affectionate, uninhibited friendship with Félix (Pablo Pauly), who keeps her up to date with his womanizing exploits and tries to prod her into shedding her spinsterhood. But she has no interest in modern-day 'Uber sex,' as she puts it—app-based, transient, possibly malodorous. She instead spends her free time writing romantic stories that she seems never able to finish, a fact that has some unsubtle implications about her own love life.
