Hello and welcome back to another edition of my weekly movie ramblings.

If you enjoy the conversation, don’t hesitate to leave a like and a comment.

If this is your first time here, welcome! I encourage you to scroll around and take in the scenery.

Lol.

Without further ado, this week’s film is none other than Miss Austen Regrets.

I have no clue how accurate this biopic is, as Jane Austen didn’t leave much information about her romantic life.

As a result, I consider this and other films, such as Becoming Jane, to be well-written fanfiction.

A personal favorite of mine—and one I believe Miss Austen Regrets may have drawn inspiration from—is Austen’s Persuasion.

Long story short, on the recommendation of a trusted friend, Lady Russell, Anne Elliot almost loses her chance at love.

Thankfully, by the power of plot armor, love prevails and she gets her man.

Sadly for Miss Austen—or at least the version presented in this film—things don’t work out quite so neatly.

Instead, she dies unmarried and poor.

The film opens with Jane receiving a marriage proposal from Mr. Bigg, a wealthy suitor.

She reluctantly accepts.

However, much like Anne Elliot, she is persuaded to refuse his hand the following morning.

And who is standing nearby whispering in her ear?

None other than her sister Cassandra.

Jealous?

Selfish?

Concerned?

I genuinely struggled to understand Cassandra’s motives.

But somewhere in the back of my mind, I suspected selfishness played a role.

Fast forward several years.

Jane is now a proud old spinster, turning up her nose at people she considers intellectually inferior, despite the fact that those very same people are helping keep a roof over her head by buying her novels.

Sidenote: I really hope the real Jane Austen wasn’t like this because it’s no wonder she’s alone.

The film certainly doesn’t do her character any favors.

But I digress.

Living in a small cottage alongside her sister and mother, Jane is visited by her twenty-seven-year-old niece, Fanny, who is ripe and ready for marriage.

The Sisterhood Doesn’t Like Marriage

Why wasn’t Cassandra married herself?

Didn’t she like men?

If so, fine.

But why ruin someone else’s chance at happiness?

My theory is that she didn’t want to be left alone caring for their mother, so she convinced Jane to give up marriage too.

I didn’t expect to enjoy this film as much as I did.

Despite Jane’s many flaws, I could understand her humanity.

She wanted love.

It was simply a dream denied.

At the very least, she was honest enough to admit it.

Some people become so jaded that they refuse to acknowledge they still want companionship.

As for me?

I’m not ashamed.

I still want somebody to hold.

Lol.

The film also helped me understand Jane’s fears about money.

She knew exactly how precarious her financial situation was.

She refused to place her future entirely in the hands of financially irresponsible brothers.

Finally, I began to understand why she could be such a harsh critic of other people.

Not that it excuses her behavior.

But her mother was an even harsher critic of her.

I wanted to choke that woman through the television screen.

Every time she opened her mouth, she seemed determined to tear Jane down.

To be fair, the mother wasn’t entirely wrong about one thing.

Jane and the Downton Abbey guy were emotionally cheating.

And honestly?

I think emotional cheating can be worse than physical cheating.

I imagine Jane’s death weighed heavily on him afterward.

Anypoops, the world is probably doomed to speculate forever about who Jane Austen really was.

Beyond a handful of letters and the novels she left behind, who knows what her life was truly like?

I give Miss Austen Regrets 4 out of 5 rose petals.