Spoiler alert! We're discussing major details about the ending of “Verity” (in theaters now), adapted from Colleen Hoover’s 2018 novel. Stop reading now if you haven’t seen it yet and don’t want to know
what happens.
There are two sides to every story.
In the psychological thriller “Verity,” struggling author Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) is hired to ghost-write new books for famous suspense novelist Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway), who is unable to speak or move after a boating accident that killed her young daughter, Harper (Sienna Kulovitz).
Lowen moves in with Verity, her husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett) and son Crew (Brady Wagner), so she can sort through Verity’s notes and get a better feel for her writing. While rummaging through the family's home office, Lowen discovers Verity’s unpublished autobiography. In the manuscript, Verity talks about the jealousy she feels having to share Jeremy with her kids.
At one point, she nearly smothers the infant Harper in her crib before her husband walks in. And later, she writes that Harper’s death was no accident, but she purposefully capsized their canoe and refused to save her daughter.
How does the ‘Verity’ movie end?
An enraged Lowen tells Jeremy about Verity’s horrific admissions, and together, they decide to fatally suffocate Verity and frame it as a choking incident.
Lowen shacks up with Jeremy and soon inherits Verity’s book empire. But one day, as they’re getting ready to move out of their house, Lowen uncovers a letter from Verity hidden under a floorboard. In the letter, Verity claims that her entire “autobiography” was merely a writing exercise to help her get inside the mind of a villain. She explains that she loves her children and that Harper’s death was in fact an accident.
But when Jeremy discovered her “autobiography” and believed it to be true, he tied her up inside a car and crashed it into a tree. Verity then proceeded to pretend that she was paralyzed and mute, with the hope of one day running away with Crew and escaping her husband.
“Verity” finishes on an ambiguous note, as Lowen wonders which version of Verity’s story was actually true. Like Hoover’s book, the movie explores the ways that truth can be manipulated and how we all have our own versions of events.
“The three actors – Dakota, Anne and Josh – all felt very strongly about what they believed was true,” director Michael Showalter says. “I felt very protective that each one of them had their version of what happened, and then I wanted the movie to be equal to all three. So in that process, I don't know what to believe, either. I don't have an opinion – I just tried to be like, ‘Here’s three versions of the truth. You decide.’ ”
What are the biggest changes in ‘Verity’ from Colleen Hoover’s book?
In an effort to streamline the story for the big screen, the “Verity” movie omits a third Crawford child named Chastin, who mysteriously died of an allergic reaction. The film also cuts an upsetting sequence in which Verity describes trying to give herself an abortion with a coat hanger.
In some ways, the movie is even more erotic than the novel, with nods to “Persona” and “All About Eve” as Lowen starts to become just like Verity. (In one dream sequence, the two women passionately make out.)
“There’s this psychosexual way that they’re opposed, but there’s also an attraction there,” Showalter says. “That was something we leaned into more heavily.”
As pulpy and escapist as “Verity” can be, the film was a tonal balancing act for Showalter, who wanted to ensure that Verity’s struggles with postpartum depression were given the weight they deserved.
“What she talks about in her manuscript is something you never see talked about in the context of an entertaining film, which is a woman who has very mixed feelings about motherhood,” Showalter says. “It’s shocking and I applaud Colleen for having the courage as a writer to look at those feelings that are real.”
Numerous people on social media have already drawn parallels between “Verity” and Lindsay Clancy, who was accused of killing her three children in 2023. Her high-profile case ended in a mistrial last month after the jury was deadlocked.
“It's very understandable that would be a thing people talk about,” Showalter says. “It is something that we've talked about recently," given that the trial wasn't happening when the movie was in production. “But I like to let people have those discussions. … This [movie] is tapping into some areas that aren't easy to look at, and it'll be interesting to see what people have to say about it.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The shocking ending of 'Verity' will make you rethink the whole film
