“A writer’s words should be honest, bloody, and a little bit terrifying.”
Amazon MGM Studios
Slow, methodical, sultry, and stomach-churning. Verity was an unexpected stand out film starring Dakota Johnson, Anne Hathaway, and Josh Hartnett. Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) is a published author struggling to find her footing in the literary world, when she is mysteriously approached to finish writing bestselling author, Verity Crawford’s (Anne Hathaway), popular novel series. In an attempt to find Verity’s voice, Lowen temporarily moves in with the Crawford family to sift through Verity’s extensive notes and drafts. The bridge between reality and fiction begins to disappear as Lowen uncovers the secret words, lies, and motives Verity has kept hidden.
Amazon MGM Studios
Hathaway is an actress, in my book, who can do no wrong. Even more impressive, is the fact she plays a wheelchair bound, catatonic character, relying solely on the slightest twinge of the lip, eyebrow, or blank stare to deliver something incredible. Dakota Johnson proves she has been constantly miscast in her previous film duds, delivering an exotic and magnificent performance we rarely get to see from her. Josh Hartnett continues to prove he’s still a heartthrob all these years later, balancing a compassionate and temperamental character perfectly.
Based on the Colleen Hoover novel of the same name, Verity is a labyrinth where reality and fiction blur into one another, where the twists and turns challenge the audience’s perception, and where the villain is left to the viewer. There is no right or wrong , only perception.
Amazon MGM Studios
Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion, but did they really have to include Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper and Hot Ones Sean Evans? I have respect for the work they contribute to their field, but the tactic to have Verity appear on both their shows feels like a cheap ploy to attract a younger audience. In fact, I can confidently say it takes the viewer out of the film and back into the real world.
*insert eye roll here*
Even days after watching, I still cannot make a strong enough case to determine the sole villain in this film? Perhaps, they’re all the villain?
Verity was the perfect escape film. It has nausea inducing moments, an increasing unsettling atmosphere, and just enough unpredictability to keep you guessing until the very end.
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