From what I gather from fans of author Colleen Hoover, the novelist’s big-screen adaptations are pretty faithful to the source material. Never mind that the source material has never been a critical smash; if you’re a fan, the movies let you see the bestselling tales on the big screen with stars like Blake Lively, McKenna Grace, and Maika Monroe. The good news for everyone else is that this time, Hoover’s latest adaptation, Verity, is a much-needed tonal swing; it suggests that the filmmakers and stars Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway know this assignment is better served with humor and over-the-top sexiness. The actors, including a hunky, middle-aged, like-fine-wine Josh Hartnett, play the affair straight so we, the audience, can laugh our asses off.
Adapted from Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, the seductive psychological thriller follows renowned author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) and Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), a struggling writer who relocates to the remote Crawford estate to ghostwrite for Verity. After Lowen uncovers what appear to be Verity’s chilling autobiographical notes, she wrestles with disturbing, twisted confessions about Verity’s husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and struggles to separate fiction from reality, manipulation from attraction, and opportunity from obsession.
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Structurally, the story is a variant on one of my own personal favorite subgenres: the homoerotic struggle between master and apprentice. See also: Curtis Hanson’s Bad Influence, Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, or Barbet Schroeder’s Single White Female. These scripts focus on the younger person being seduced by the seemingly spontaneous, groovy lifestyle of the aforementioned master. In Kathryn Bigelow’s 90s cult classic Point Break, think of bank robber surfer Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) waxing poetic about the suckers who drive around in their “metal coffins” to newly trained FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves). Or even in the rare boy-girl coupling in the subgenre, as high schooler Jason Dean (Christian Slater) convinces Veronica (Winona Ryder) to kill off mean girls in another cult classic, Heathers. The allure of leaving one’s boring (and typically financially strapped) life behind for chaos, excitement, and yes, lustful desires is hard to deny such temptations.
The fun hook in Verity is that the “master,” Verity, survived a car accident that left her immobilized. She can’t even move her eyes, let alone speak. To finish the latest Verity novel, Lowen will need to research notes, emails, and even a hidden manuscript. Narratively, this means the bulk of Hathaway’s fun turn into Joan Crawford Mommy Dearest mode is in flashbacks. (Verity’s last name is Crawford! Get it?!) Johnson, performance-wise, is mostly sequestered to cutaways of her intensely reading — a lot.
Of course, in the spirit of last year’s surprise smash The Housemaid, director Michael Showalter knows reading gets dull without some kinky thrills; hence, our trio of extremely good-looking stars is more than up to the task to writhe, undress, and even bite the heck out of some expensive furniture. Is it actually sexy? I mean… I guess, but don’t be surprised if one’s eyes roll back as you laugh.
One of Dakota Johnson’s best features as an actress is her ability to deliver such silly dialogue with the most serious deadpan. For some actors, that can be a debit, but for her, it’s a feature, not a bug. She’s just too smart not to add that extra layer of camp in her line reading if the script needs a little oomph.
As mentioned before, Anne Hathaway is clearly relishing this kind of mother-lover-destroyer role. There’s a moment late in the film where she goes emotionally from terrified to conniving; that’s perfection. It’s felt like a nod to a similar moment where she rallied fear and manipulation in one take as Selena Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises. As hubby Jeremy, Josh Hartnett gets a few scenes to exude warmth with his adorable son Crew (Bradley Wagner), but mostly he’s there to look either sad or aroused, depending on what the scene calls for.
The level of blood and death, like most 90s erotic thrillers, is best described as “tasteful”. This film earns the R more for the sex and nature of the characters. Still, I won’t be traveling in a canoe any time soon.
Enjoyment of this kind of not quite campy, not-at-all-successful thriller comes purely from the feeling of being in on the joke. Is that joke at Colleen Hoover’s expense? Perhaps, but Verity feels like her most rewatchable film so far.
Verity exclusively in theaters on October 2, 2026.
