VERITY - - The Power of Female Literature

Review by Adam Donato

Colleen Hoover has persisted after the box office success that was It Ends With Us. Even Regretting You and Reminders of Him found moderate box office success. Her newest release really brings the star power as Anne Hathaway defines the marketing of Verity. While she’s a major presence, this is largely Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett’s movie. A spooky romance thriller just in time for Halloween season. Can this new entry for Hoover be as much of a critical success as her box office track record?

One of the biggest things going against this movie is how derivative it is. It’s almost identical to the dynamic of The Housemaid. A young sex icon actress has to live in this beautiful house and work with the crazy housewife, while trying not to get too hot and heavy with the hunky daddy of the house. The trailer gives plenty away and even if you didn’t see it, the movie doesn’t take long to telegraph exactly what’s going to happen. This is only made worse by how obnoxiously unsatisfying the ending is. The movie ends right as things are actually starting to happen. There’s no justice for any of the characters. They’re all unlikable and uninteresting anyways. The movie attempts to have this chilling ending, but the context of the scene is so unserious that it’s embarrassing. Maybe if the movie had leaned more into the comedy, then this may be acceptable, but it’s a pretty serious tone throughout. 

With Digger opening opposite of Verity this weekend, it’s quite the pair of ridiculous movies that touch on very serious and pressing issues in our society today. It’s easy to see how these movies are hard to market to audiences right now. The story of Verity is uncomfortably reminiscent of a famous murder trial that recently happened. It just seems insensitive to turn this serious tragedy into a relatable girl boss moment for a pretty lowly character. Now this book was written years ago so it’s just poor timing, but it’s still not a good look. It’s not unlike Joker, but for women. Not the kind of movie you want to hear someone say “she’s literally me.”

Anne Hathaway is a working woman. Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, The End of Oak Street, and now Verity. Not only is she pulling off a variety of genres, but also quality as well. The Odyssey is one of the most critically acclaimed movies in recent history, meanwhile Verity is going to be closer to the opposite end of that spectrum. We’ve seen her play the villain before and there’s not enough for her to do here that makes this performance stand out. This type of movie is exactly in Dakota Johnson’s wheelhouse. She’s a wildly unrelatable and uninteresting lead here. Josh Hartnett feels like he’s treading on familiar territory as his most notable leading role in a long time in M. Night Shyamalan's Trap. Performances aside, everyone is at their sexiest here. A movie like this is not only trying to be an intriguing mystery thriller, but it’s also trying to attract sex appeal and it at least accomplishes the latter.

Quality isn’t always the draw. Sometimes it’s fun to throw on something trashy and have a night. Do you think Anne Hathaway is queen? Do you think Josh Hartnett is daddy? Do you think Dakota Johnson is a cool girl? Then whip out the pajamas and wine glasses because Verity is more fitted to be a late night streaming watch as opposed to going out to the theaters. There’s a good distance between this and a movie going for a similar demographic, Practical Magic 2, so the path to box office success seems likely. Maybe it will get people talking, but hopefully it won’t.

Verity writes its way into theaters October 2nd.

Rating: 1/5