The next Colleen Hoover adaptation is here, and this time it’s Verity, starring Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett and Dakota Johnson. Directed by Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer, The Big Sick), this is a bit of a departure from the director’s usual comedic territory. The film follows Lowen (Dakota Johnson), a struggling writer who is hired to ghostwrite novels for world-renowned author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) after she suffers a car accident that leaves her seemingly comatose. Lowen moves into Verity’s beautiful home, where she lives with Verity’s husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and soon begins uncovering some deeply unsettling secrets about the family and Verity’s troubling past.
Going into this movie, I honestly told my fiancée that I thought it was going to be terrible. But, to my surprise, Verity actually kept me engaged for most of its runtime. This is the second Colleen Hoover adaptation of the year, following Reminders of Him, and I definitely enjoyed this one more. There’s also no denying the star power here, with Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett all bringing something to the table.
The movie reminded me quite a bit of The Housemaid, particularly with its setting, the secrets hidden within a seemingly perfect household and the characters who find themselves practically prisoners in their own home. There were several moments where I couldn’t help but think, “This is just The Housemaid all over again.” That said, Verity never quite goes as far down that road, which I appreciated. It borrows some familiar ideas, but manages to carve out its own identity, even if there are moments that feel a little too familiar.
One of the biggest things that kept me invested was the mystery. Verity is an author who specializes in writing stories from the perspective of villains, which is a pretty fascinating character detail. As Lowen begins going through Verity’s work, she discovers an autobiographical manuscript that reveals some disturbing details about Verity’s past. From there, the movie becomes a game of trying to figure out who’s telling the truth, who’s manipulating whom and what exactly is going on inside this household. It’s very much an onion, with layers being peeled back as the story progresses, and I was genuinely waiting for the big reveal.
Anne Hathaway is clearly having a year, with this being her fifth and final movie of 2026. It’s fun seeing her take on a much more villainous role here. Verity is a genuinely mean, manipulative character, and Hathaway seems to relish playing someone so unpleasant. Dakota Johnson is perfectly serviceable as Lowen, and there’s even a funny running gag about her character having resting bored face. At times, though, I couldn’t help but wish Johnson would change up her facial expressions a little more. Meanwhile, Josh Hartnett is just fucking awesome. He brings a lot to Jeremy, a husband dealing with an unimaginable family tragedy while trying to move forward with his life.
The house itself is another highlight. The beautifully staged home where most of the movie takes place looks fantastic, and it really helps establish the atmosphere. With Jeremy and Verity having lost one of their twins, the family is already dealing with a tremendous amount of grief before Lowen arrives. The accident, the ghostwriting arrangement and the discoveries in Verity’s manuscript all add to the increasingly unsettling environment. Visually, the movie looks great, and the production design gives the story a polished, almost too-perfect setting that works well for the mysteries unfolding within it.
My biggest issue with Verity is that I actually wanted it to be a little sillier. There are moments where the movie feels like it could have embraced the ridiculousness of its premise a bit more, but instead it takes itself very seriously. Given the story, the characters and some of the increasingly outrageous revelations, I think a little more campiness could have gone a long way. There are definitely some moments that had me questioning what I was watching, but not necessarily in a bad way. It just feels like the movie occasionally misses an opportunity to have a little more fun with its own absurdity.
And then there’s the ending, or at least the ending I didn’t get to see. With roughly 10 to 15 minutes left in the movie, right after what I thought was the major reveal, the fire alarm at my theater went off. The theater was practically sold out, and everyone was understandably bummed about having to leave so close to the end. I knew there was potentially one more twist coming, so I ended up looking up what happens in the book online. Of course, there’s always the possibility that the filmmakers changed things, so I’m still annoyed that I missed the actual conclusion.
Ultimately, Verity is a perfectly passable psychological thriller that benefits greatly from its cast. I went in expecting a disaster, but the movie managed to keep me engaged because I was constantly waiting for the next twist or revelation. While there are similarities to The Housemaid, it doesn’t completely fall into the same territory, and the performances from Hathaway and Hartnett make it worth watching. I still think the movie could have leaned further into its sillier, more outrageous moments rather than taking itself so seriously.
Of the three films, I’d put Verity just slightly, above The Housemaid, with Reminders of Him coming in behind them. It’s not a particularly groundbreaking thriller, but it’s entertaining enough, has a ton of star power and kept me guessing. I’m just a little disappointed that a fire alarm prevented me from seeing the final 10 minutes.
Verity = 61/100