Verity

Got early tickets because I loved this book, and so did my niece and sister, who I watched it with. I read Verity probably 3 or 4 years ago, and I remember loving it, but I deliberately didn’t reread it or even do a recap before seeing the movie because I wanted to just watch the movie without remembering every exact thing that was supposed to happen.

Also, I know Colleen Hoover is controversial, and I know there are plenty of criticisms surrounding her and her writing. I’m honestly not well-versed enough in all of it to give my own informed opinion on that because I haven’t actually done much research into the controversy. So I’m not going to pretend I have, but I also don’t want to completely ignore it because obviously it’s relevant context when talking about one of her adaptations. 🌝 I’m just approaching this review specifically from the perspective of someone who read Verity years ago and is now watching the movie.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty good adaptation. Obviously, there are things that are changed, condensed, or completely left out, but the overall story and the major beats are still there. And honestly, considering how much is happening in this book, I think they did a decent job translating it to a movie. It kept the unsettling atmosphere, the fucked-up family dynamics, the mystery surrounding Verity, and, most importantly, the constant feeling that something is VERY wrong in this house.

Anne Hathaway absolutely ATE. Her performance as Verity was probably my favorite part of the entire movie. She was genuinely haunting, and there were moments where she was downright freaky. There’s something about how little she has to do physically to make a scene uncomfortable. HOWEVER, I do think the movie doesn’t fully explore Verity as a character. And this is where I think someone who hasn’t read the book is at a disadvantage.

If you’ve read the book, you already have so much more context surrounding Verity, her writing, her behavior, her relationship with Jeremy, and the question of whether she is actually helpless or if she is playing everyone. The movie obviously can’t spend as much time inside Lowen’s head as the book does, but I still feel like there were opportunities to give us more of Verity and make her feel like an even more complex and disturbing character. I also think Lowen could have been explored more because there are so many layers to her descent into this whole situation that get brushed over. I wanted more psychological insight because it does help explain why all these people are crazy 🌝.

Speaking of Lowen, I’m going to be honest. Dakota Johnson’s performance was not the best. 😭 I know people say this about her all the time, and I hate to just join the bandwagon, but girl… sometimes she really does look bored. 💀 There are scenes where she’s supposed to be shocked, terrified, devastated, and will literally be yelling, yet it just doesn’t feel convincing.

THAT BEING SAID, I actually think some of her natural deadpan-ness worked for this particular character because Lowen is honestly kind of fucking disturbed herself. A lot of absolutely insane things happen to this woman and she just… doesn’t question them nearly as much as I feel like a normal person should. 💀 She’s constantly vaping, taking Xanax, drinking, and generally acting like she’s experiencing the world’s most horrifying psychological thriller while simultaneously being like “hmm. Anyway…” So some of Dakota’s chill, detached energy actually fit.

And the movie KNOWS this because there is literally a scene where Jeremy asks her if she’s “hating this” and she basically says she has a resting bored face. GIRL. YES YOU DO. 💀 At least we’re self-aware.

Now onto Josh Hartnett. I am so sorry to this man. 😭 His acting itself wasn’t bad, but he was just… not the right choice for Jeremy. Because I’m sorry, this is supposed to be the man that everyone is losing their fucking minds over???

BABY. Nobody is fighting over this man. I’m sorry. The D cannot be THAT good. 🌝

And yes, I KNOW that is a massive generalization and I KNOW the story technically isn’t supposed to be about how hot Jeremy is, but honestly… yes, it kind of is. 💀 His appeal is important to the entire dynamic because the book goes out of its way to establish why Lowen would be so drawn to him and why the women around him are so emotionally attached to him. In the book, Jeremy is charismatic, witty, charming, and has this magnetic quality that makes his behavior and the situation feel more believable. You can understand why people are drawn to him even when you absolutely do NOT agree with what they’re doing.

In the movie, though? I just didn’t get that. Josh Hartnett is not ugly, but (and I’m soooo sorry to this man) he just isn’t attractive enough to make this believable. As well as Jeremy himself didn’t feel particularly charismatic. And I think that’s partly the performance and partly the writing. The movie doesn’t do enough to establish WHY everyone is so captivated by this man. So when things start getting increasingly insane, I was sitting there like… y’all are doing ALL THIS over HIM??? 😭

And honestly, this is one of those things where I think the adaptation loses some of the weirdness that made the book so compelling. Verity is already a story where you’re constantly questioning everyone’s motivations and wondering who the hell you’re supposed to believe. The characters need to feel compelling enough that their decisions, while still completely insane, at least make sense within their own fucked-up logic.

Also, I can’t talk about this without mentioning how much the story plays with the idea of whether Verity is actually a victim or whether she has been manipulating everyone the entire time. THAT is the part I wish the movie had leaned into even harder. I wanted to be more uncomfortable. I wanted to leave the theater arguing with my sister and niece about what actually happened. 😭 The movie does give you that ambiguity, but I think the book gets much deeper into the psychological aspect of it.

Overall, though, I had a good time. It wasn’t AMAZING, and I wouldn’t say it completely lived up to how much I loved the book, but it definitely wasn’t bad. I was entertained most of the time and I think it works as a thriller even if I have some pretty significant casting and character-development complaints.

Sidenote: the Call Her Daddy podcast and Hot Ones interview clips were not only unnecessary, but they also didn’t really make sense for Verity as a character. I mean, first of all, no fucking author is going on Call Her Daddy 🌝—at least not to my knowledge. And second, Verity is supposed to be this incredibly respected, larger-than-life, renowned author. She is NOT eating fucking hot wings on Hot Ones. 😭 I’m sorry, but I just cannot picture the Verity from the book sitting there sweating and eating chicken wings for an interview. 💀

And honestly, I think those scenes also took away from the creepy vibe of the movie. They made Verity feel more like a modern celebrity than the almost untouchable, larger-than-life figure the story establishes her as. I’m not saying the entire movie was bad because of those scenes, obviously, but I’m going to be honest: they were unnecessary, they felt kind of stupid, and they pulled me out of the story. And I DO love Hot Ones, but I’m sorry… they did not need to be featured in this movie. 😭