Verity Review Rating:
Star Cast: Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Harnett.
Director: Michael Showalter
What’s Good: Anne Hathaway going into villain mode is quite entertaining.
What’s Bad: The mystery is so much in the background that I would hesitate in calling this a thriller.
Loo Break: At any point during the second act is a good time, as the movie moves into erotica more than any other genre.
Watch or Not?: Watch only if you are a huge fan of the three leads, but there is not much here on a cinematic level.
Language: English (with subtitles)
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 117 Minutes
User Rating:
The year of Anne Hathaway continues with one more film that is set up to become a success just like The Housemaid did last year; a film made for the BookTok crowd that is always searching for the next big page-turner, and of course, its eventual film adaptation, which in this case is being led by Hathaway and directed by Michael Showalter, a director that is just made for this type of generic filmmaking showcase.
Verity Movie Review: Script Analysis
Verity is an adaptation of the novel written by Colleen Hoover, which became a huge bestseller not too long ago thanks to the book finding viral coverage on TikTok, and also having enough controversial content to keep the conversation going for a long time after the readers turned the last page, and so we find ourselves in front of a film adaptation that should be exciting, mysterious, and entertaining, but that sadly falls into the ridiculous territory not many movies want to be in.
The reason, well, Verity is sold as a mystery, but the plot relies mainly on erotica to keep things going, and in today’s day and age, that not might be the most effective tool to entertain, especially for movie goers who are actually searching for a story, and not just horny people interacting with each other, and that is basically what happens here for about two hours.
There is a mystery to be sold, don’t get me wrong, but it feels like something that is being developed little by little on the background instead of the forefront, where the attention is mainly on Dakota Johnson’s character and her relationship with an abandoned and solitary husband, played by John Harnett; the dialogue is quite a challenge for the actors, and it often sounds like a very funny stream of jokes.
However, for those audience members who love camp, then the movie is just a treasure of riches, as the movie really takes itself seriously enough that the results of many conversations ends up being funny or hilarious, and this is a tone that is often avoided by many films, but will work in this case for some audience members, while others will definitely pray for the movie to finish as soon as possible.
Verity Movie Review: Star Performance
The main plot, the dialogue and the overall story might stumble a lot, but the performances really bring everything together and make the movie more than tolerable, especially when it comes to Anne Hathaway, an actress that for a while was seen as unsympathetic, but that now feels like just an old friend, and to see her here going full villain mode is quite amazing, and she just nails it, making every scene she is in the best in the entire movie.
Dakota Johnson is always charming, and this is the type of movie she seems to excel at, but while good, I don’t think she has the presence to share the screen with Hathaway convincingly. Josh Hartnett, on the other hand, is always a welcome presence. I’m glad to see him more and more on the big screen once again.
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Verity Movie Review: Direction, Music
Michael Showalter is exactly the perfect director for a movie like this one, he has excelled at directing movies that feel quite tame and just plain entertaining, so you could say he brings his professionalism to the table but not much else, there is really no style on display on any of the scenes or in any shot for that matter, he lets the story speak for itself, and maybe that is for the best in this particular case.
The shot composition is as basic as it gets, but it gets the job done. That can also be said of the blocking and just the overall editing of the movie; it just works. Showalter doesn’t get in the way of the story, but it would be great if he could have enhanced it somewhat; but that is not the case.
Verity Movie Review: The Last Word
Verity is not a very good film; the mystery is left on the wayside, and the focus on the erotica elements just makes it so boring that it is hard to ignore, the actors do a good job, but they cannot save the film from being too basic on almost every level, but don’t get confused, this movie will find its audience, might it be on theaters or in the digital market, but it will find it, and it will keep the fires burning in favor of this kind of novel adaptation.
Verity Trailer
Verity releases on 2nd October, 2026.
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