by Chris Bakker, Contributing Writer
The release of Verity marks Anne Hathaway’s fifth and final theatrical release in 2026, and if nothing else it’s yet another example of the range of her acting ability. It’s safe to say that across her five films this year she hasn’t treaded any of the same ground.
Being part of the cinematic juggernaut that was The Odyssey is sure to overshadow much of everything else she’s done, but there’s good to be found in each of her films this year, and that’s no small feat. Verity is no exception, though that’s not to say the movie itself is a slam dunk.
Based on a novel by Colleen Hoover, Verity is the story of promising author Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) being asked to assist renowned writer Verity Crawford (Hathaway) in completing the rest of her book series while she’s dealing with personal matters. Naturally, these personal matters are more than they appear to be on the surface, and as Lowen gets closer to Verity’s husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), tensions start to rise.
At its core, Verity really wants to be an erotic thriller that plays at various levels of mystery in the tension between its three leads. The problem with many of these mysteries throughout is that they should feel interpersonal. However, aren’t dramatic enough and the characters don’t treat them as such. Much of it is exposited by Lowen simply reading things Verity has already written. Around that exposition are scenes between Johnson and Hartnett that in any other movie would play as completely normal romance movie stuff with nary a hint at anything thrilling.
This means that by the time the movie is ready to spring answers on you, it has to do everything it was planning on doing in quick succession, which lessens the impact. It feels like what was intended to be a slow burn starts early, is then doused, and then has to be coaxed back into burning to be ready in time for the blaze.
Throughout all this though, it’s clear that its leads are game for the kind of movie this is and wants to be, especially Hathaway. She leans deliciously into the moments where Verity is the author-version of herself. Moments where she reads her own writing or connects to Lowen through the page are just the correct amount of over the top. Johnson and Hartnett have a harder time because they have to also act opposite each other and make their chemistry seem believable despite the dialogue being intentionally melodramatic.
All put together, Verity doesn’t really feel like it works, even though I was never bored with it or had a bad time. Many times, I felt like a scene was silly, a line of dialogue was stupid, or a piece of setup was incredibly obvious. But throughout, it just kept having moments that were so silly they were funny, or a performance that was so fitting to how stupid the line was that it felt tongue-in-cheek. Despite all that, I still found myself enjoying the ride trying to guess what would be revealed next.
So, while I am not fully sold on Verity as a good movie, I also can’t say I didn’t have a good time, and maybe that’s enough for you as well. If you intend to see it, I suggest seeing it early with a relatively larger crowd, because amongst the moments that didn’t quite work was something that the audience in my screening enhanced. It will go down as one of the most delightful movie moments I’ve had in recent years, and that if nothing else has to count for something!
Rating: Just Okay
Verity is currently playing in theaters
You can read more from Chris Bakker, and follow him on Letterboxd