VERITY Movie Review: Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson Lead a Dark Psychological Thriller

VERITY Movie Review

VERITY is based on Colleen Hoover's novel of the same name. The film stars Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett, and is directed by Michael Showalter.

The story follows Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), an aspiring writer living in New York who has published a couple of books with barely any readership. After her mother passes away from cancer and she faces potential eviction, Hachette Book Group offers her an unusual assignment: help bestselling author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) complete her next book, The Nobel Features. Verity's husband, Jeremy Crawford (Josh Hartnett), convinces Lowen to take the assignment for a handsome fee. Lowen moves to the couple's remote lake house in Vermont, where they live with their son, Crew (Brady Wagner). The couple's daughter, Harper, died in a boating accident a year ago, and Jeremy is grieving both her death and Verity's comatose condition, which Lowen was not informed of beforehand.

Lowen is tasked with reviewing Verity's notes and completing the novel in her style. The process consumes her as she reads Verity's dark writings and discovers a shocking tell-all manuscript about the author's marital life.

The screenplay by Nick Antosca keeps viewers hooked with intense events, though the happenings can be difficult to digest and disturbing. Michael Showalter's direction utilizes an eerie setting, and the 117-minute runtime moves at a brisk pace thanks to slick editing by Jay Cassidy. Volker Bertelmann’s music adds to the eerie atmosphere, Jim Frohna provides breathtaking cinematography of the Vermont portions, Amy Williams handles production design, and Jacqueline Demeterio designs the costumes.

On the flipside, the film suffers due to its disturbing treatment, unconvincing finale, and ambiguous ending. At the box office, it faces competition from DRISHYAM THE CONCLUSION and THE DIGGER.

Performances

• Anne Hathaway delivers a strong, unsettling performance, even in scenes where she is in a coma.
• Dakota Johnson puts her best forward, with deadpan expressions that work well for Lowen.
• Josh Hartnett is impressive in his early sequences, though slightly overshadowed by the lead actresses.
• Irina Dvorovenko plays Anna, Brady Wagner plays Crew, and Ismael Cruz Cordova plays Corey.