Verity: Best kept on page?
By Sienna Black
It seems Colleen Hoover is on a mission to make her novels into blockbuster hits, but can they fill the boots of her best sellers?
Colleen Hoover is a best selling author from Texas.
Michel Showalter’s film adaptation of Hoovers bestselling novel, Verity, appeared on screens carrying the weight of huge expectations. Verity is branded as an erotic psychological thriller, while it created mystery, it lacked psychological depth. The shortage of chemistry and confusing endings turned this thriller into a complete flop.
The story follows Lowen Ashleigh played by Dakota Johnson, a struggling writer hired to cowrite for incapacitated author, Verity Crawford played by Anne Hathaway. Lowen is invited to stay in the family home alongside Verity’s grieving husband, Jeremy played by Josh Hartnett. This is where Lowen soon discovers a disturbing manuscript that unveils horrifying family secrets.
The first half of the film dragged, leaning heavy on the big dark scary house cliche. This led to expected jump scares and predictable thrills. It felt as though Michel couldn't create genuine atmosphere, which made the build-up feel underwhelming.
This movie is set out to be a thriller, although throughout the movie the audience is hit with multiple intimate scenes. These moments are important to portray the intense passion between the characters, but the utter frequency felt distracting and pulled away from the plot.
Dakota’s character gives a checked-out attitude no matter the situation. She as a whole fell flat, and at times created an awkward atmosphere throughout the film.
Anne adopted the role of Verity completely, which is nothing new from her. The way she took the character and encapsulated her dark, twisted and evil essence made the story ultimately convincing. It almost feels as if she saved the movie in a way, although confined to a wheelchair for the majority of the movie, her haunting screen presence makes up some of the movies best moments.
Overall, you will finish this movie mildly entertained with many unanswered questions. Colleens' skills are best suited for the page than the big screens, and unfortunately this movie is proof of that.
★★☆☆☆