When Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) is hired to finishing writing a series of books penned by illusive author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), she has no idea what she’s in for. After learning from Verity’s husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett) that Verity was in a life altering car accident, he invites her to stay at their house in Vermont so that she Lowen can get to work. But then Lowen uncovers what appears to be Verity’s autography and it has her struggling to differentiate reality from fiction.
Verity was the first book I ever read by Colleen Hoover. It’s stuck with me over the years because of its insane twist. I always wondered how that would work out if we ever got to see it live. Luckily for me, I got my wish. It wasn’t a surprise that Verity would get the big screen treatment. It is the fourth of Hoover’s novels that has and I think it is also the one that proved to be the most complicated. I’m not a Hoover fan by any means, but this is my favorite book of hers that I’ve read, and I wanted them to do it justice.
Let’s start with what they got right. The casting was a dream – Johnson, Hathaway and Hartnett in the lead roles is something I could have only ever hoped for. Lowen is an interesting character. She’s awkward and kind of dark. Johnson excelled in the awkwardness, but I would have loved the darker side to come out more. It would have better explained some choices that were made later on in the film. Hathaway, in her sixth film of the year, was having an absolute ball as Verity. No stranger to an unreliable character, she leaned into it all the way and was the highlight of the film for me. Hartnett had the heartthrob husband act done to a T. I’m glad he’s back and acting in more films again. Jeremy is yet another complex character and once again, this was not explored as much as it should have been.
Although I read the book a while ago now, I can’t help but feel like there was a lot they missed out on. This is a thriller and it never completely went to the places it needed to go. The book had so many moments that were unhinged; the film in comparison only scratched the surface. I would have preferred for it to be a little bit on the longer side so that fans of the book could see some pivotal moments come to life and for us to truly feel as though we were losing our minds right there along Lowen.
The pacing was off from the get go. I’m all for a slow burn, but this took it a step too far. They kept teasing us with these little moments of crazy and then wouldn’t give it the proper pay off. Because of this, I did not buy the flirtation between Lowen and Jeremy whatsoever. We were suddenly just supposed to believe that they had all this sexual tension when all we really were able to revert back to were two sharing a drink when everyone was asleep and Lowen’s birthday dinner at the Bavarian restaurant. The final act, which was super intense in the book and almost literally took my breath away, was rushed in the film and did not give me the same experience. It’s like they went from zero to one hundred without it feeling properly earned.
On its own, Verity is a solid enough film. The cast are great in their roles and the story will keep you entertained the whole way through. I went with my husband and he was on the edge of his seat. However, if you are a fan of the book, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were disappointed. I know I was.
Rating: ♥️♥️.5
