Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett lead Verity, a psychological thriller that stays close to Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel but doesn't always capture the chemistry its story demands.
Margaret Colleen Hoover's literary career began as a grassroots campaign when, in January 2012, she self-published her first novel, Slammed. A month later, she published a sequel, Point of Retreat. By the summer of that same year, Slammed received a five-star review, and both books ended up on the New York Times Best Seller list. After getting picked up by Atria Books publishing, a third book in the series, This Girl, was published, and Hoover officially quit her full-time job as a social worker. Ten years later, several of Hoover's novels have been on the New York Times Best Seller list, and three of them have been adapted into feature films. The third movie, Verity, is heading to theaters this week.
Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway; The Odyssey) is an extremely successful author whose popular book series still has three more novels to be written for her contract. However, after a car accident, she has been unable to complete the books, and her publishing company, at the request of Verity's husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett; Black Hawk Down), has asked author Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson; the Fifty Shades series) to step in to help complete the work based on notes and outlines in Verity's office. Once in the Crawford home, though, Lowen discovers the secrets buried beneath the surface of what seems, to the outside world, like a successful couple with a loving marriage and a fairly happy family life.
With a screenplay written by Nick Antosca (Cape Fear), based on the novel of the same name by Hoover, the highly anticipated film is directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick). Showalter tries to stay as close to the source material as possible, which is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, he has a lot of material to work with, while on the other hand, the film seems a little too long as he tries to fit in as much as possible to appease Hoover's fans. He manages to have a few moments of tension, which gives the film its psychological thriller vibe. Unfortunately, the romance portion sits mostly unfulfilled.
Part of the reason for the latter complaint lies in the casting. Hathaway is perfectly cast and does an excellent job portraying Verity. Her narration seems to have a certain sinister quality to it that is both delicious and devious all at once. Johnson and Hartnett are merely okay, except for the fact that they have no chemistry whatsoever, which is problematic since they are supposed to play two individuals thrown together by circumstance who find themselves attracted to each other. For the three stars, there is also no connection, as they seem to be in three different stories in the same film, and none of them seemed to have gotten the memo.
The scenery, on the other hand, is breathtaking, and the snow-covered ground and trees of what is supposed to be Rhode Island are beautiful. It is easy to look at the screen, take a deep breath, and imagine you are filling your lungs with the cold, crisp, clean air. The house that is used in the production also has some unique designs that give it a rather foreboding look, such as the dark and stone-covered master bathroom that Lowen uses or the wood used throughout the house, giving it a "cabin in the woods" kind of feel that tends to be a staple of horror movies.
Is Verity a fairly accurate adaptation of Hoover's novel? Yes. Is it a masterful rendition that will make fans happy? Not especially. Regardless, the ending will keep people talking. However, I, for one, left the theater with an uneasy feeling that was somewhat unsatisfying.
Grade: C+
