Austenland is a 2013 British-American romantic comedy film directed by Jerusha Hess.Based on Shannon Hale's 2007 novel of the same name and produced by author Stephenie Meyer, it stars Keri Russell as a single thirty-something obsessed with Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, who travels to a British resort called Austenland, in which the Austen era is recreated. While at "Austenland", Jane is plagued with self-doubt about pretending to be a woman from the Jane Austen era. I f you're going to fork out on one actively bad film this year, it may as well be Austenland. Director Jerusha Hess (co-writer of Napoleon Dynamite) has a really remarkable debut. Ella Taylor of the Los Angeles Times described the novel as "some lit lite to see you through a day at the beach". While not a completely original romcom premise, there is enough that is fresh in the storyline to keep you engaged, and at one point even with a whodunit flair. I saw this Austenland premiere at Sundance yesterday and I was thoroughly entertained. Reception. Austenland is in the same pitiful club as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, positioning itself as a clever piss-take which ultimately falls so far short that you wondered why anybody bothered. However, along the journey Jane makes new friends and finds two new romantic interests.