Verity Takes Its Secrets to the Screen
Verity Takes Its Secrets to the Screen
By Emma Gentry — October 20 2026
A dream writing job triggers a complete breakdown in Verity, the new adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel. It opened in theaters on October 2. The film brings the novel's disturbing premise to the screen, with Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett in lead roles.
Johnson plays Lowen Ashleigh, a writer hired to finish a book series by Verity Crawford (Hathaway) after an injury leaves Verity unable to complete it herself.
While staying at the Crawford house, Lowen discovers a manuscript containing disturbing secrets about the family. Hartnett plays Jeremy, Verity's husband, whose developing relationship with Lowen complicates the assignment.
Directed by Michael Showalter, Verity explores the interplay of attraction and suspicion. The central question is simple but compelling: how much can you trust a story when the person telling it has an agenda? That ambiguity is what makes the film so fascinating. On the page, the reader imagines what's behind the words; on screen, a glance or a pause can suggest an entirely different interpretation.
For readers of the novel, the film is about seeing the characters they have already imagined come to life. For newcomers, it is a rather unsettling introduction to Hoover's more sinister fiction. Either way, Verity is one film you are better off watching without knowing any spoilers.
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