New Yorker Critic Calls 'Verity' a 'Criminal Waste of Talent'

In a critique for The New Yorker, Richard Brody expresses his disapproval of the film version of Colleen Hoover's 'Verity,' which is helmed by Michael Showalter and features Dakota Johnson, Anne Hathaway, and Josh Hartnett. He contends that the adaptation, which shifts Hoover's romantic thriller into a crime drama, does not fulfill the expectations of its genre, resulting in absurd moments. The narrative centers on Lowen Ashleigh (Johnson), a struggling writer engaged by a publisher (Hachette) to ghostwrite for the incapacitated Verity Crawford (Hathaway), who is married to Jeremy (Hartnett). Brody points out the film's deficiencies in causal connections, social context, and character growth, comparing it unfavorably to classic melodramas. He claims it is hindered by an overabundance of good taste and aspirational dignity. This adaptation follows Hoover's original work published by Hachette and comes before the 2024 release of 'It Ends with Us.'