My Review of Verity (2026)

 

Written by Nick Antosca

Directed by Michael Showalter

Verity: "No one is likable from the inside out."

After watching It Ends With Us, I was kind of over adaptations of Colleen Hoover books but with this cast and it's admittedly interesting premise, I had to cave in and watch this. Also, not to brag but I can now say that I've watched every 2026 release with a certain actor, so there's that too.

This semi erotic/psychological thriller focus on the writer Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway). She's the author of a successful book series that focused on the perspective of it's villains. It's a perspective that Verity was so good at writing from that it would have the worst consequences for her.

Putting it mildly, Verity ended up in a car crash, was in a somewhat catatonic state and her darling husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett) decided to hire the incredibly unpopular author in the same genre, Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) to ghost write for Verity. Needless to say, it's a job that Lowen probably should've turned down but nothing about Lowen was straightforward.

She had a dark side of her own and there was something macabre in the way her and Jeremy. It involved a death of course and death followed the pair as Lowen moved in with Jeremy and Verity and befriended the couple's son, Crew (Brady Wagner). Crew had a twin sister that drown and Verity might have been responsible for her death.

The biggest strength of this movie was getting into Verity's mind set. Having taken the advice of Amanda (K.K. Moggie), Verity kept an account og some of her darkest thoughts, making it look like she wanted to kill her own children but she actually didn't. Oh and she was faking being catatonic in fear of her husband. Unfortunately for Verity, her fears were more than justified.

Ultimately, Verity was the flawed but sympathetic figure of the three leads. This film made both Lowen and Jeremy into villains. They predictably got together and not only did Lowen tell Verity that she was going to steal her life but she did steal it with the way she got Jeremy to kill Verity. There's no getting past the fact that Lowen was the real villain of the piece.

- There's a decent supporting role for Ismael Cruz Cordova as Lowen's agent, Corey. It did seem like him and Lowen had a thing.

- Interesting use of real life podcasters Alex Cooper and Sean Evans. I am more of a fan of the latter tbh.

- Standout music: FKA Twigs Girls Feel Good and The Marias Back To Me.

- Chronology: Mostly set in New York and Vermont. A seven month time jump also revealed Lowen being pregnant with a girl.

I really liked this film. Verity was a dark thriller, delving into the dangerous prose of one woman and how her words when taken serious had the worst consequences for everyone involved. Great performances from Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett respectively.

Rating: 8 out of 10