VERITY

Verity (2026)

Directed by: Michael Showalter 

It is surprising to watch a film centered on a woman being consistently painted as a villain.

It makes you think about why such material is written in the first place — whether as an expression of suppressed emotions or simply as a story meant to elicit reactions. Either way, it makes you question humanity. It makes you question Verity.

Because you’re curious about why Verity is portrayed that way, you’re eager to listen. Most of the time, the film is also quiet, which keeps you even more attentive.

Anne Hathaway’s narration is a pleasure to hear, turning every word into something savory. The scenes don’t always capture the vividness of her descriptions, but Anne’s delivery makes up for it.

Some parts become boring because of how inconsistently the film reveals information. Whenever the story seems ready to go somewhere, it pulls away before getting there.

Dakota Johnson’s portrayal is unexciting and underwhelming. The nanny serves no purpose, even if the film makes her look like someone important. Both the father and son rarely communicate, missing the chance to build suspense and tension inside the house. These choices result in anticlimactic turns.

As the story reaches its finale, it also pushes the characters to their limits — even if it becomes more unreasonable and far-fetched. There’s little effort to present them as people. You just have to blindly accept that doing evil things is the norm.

And that’s exactly the problem with the film. These characters are treated as pawns from a novel — nothing more and nothing less. Seeing them as real people is out of the question.

They exist to be observed, examined, and scrutinized by the public eye. They are characters. They are subjects. But they are never quite people to empathize with.

The film deserves some merit for messing with our minds, establishing certainty about something, only to cast doubt on it all over again.

It leaves questions about what is acceptable and what really happened, based on the truths presented.

But then, everyone has their own truth. Regardless of which version is considered, absolute certainty is impossible. Despite hearing her story throughout the film, no one really knows who Verity is.

It’s still a mystery. It may be unsatisfying, but the curiosity remains. Even when the film ends, Verity manages to linger.

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘

Cast: Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett

Screenplay by: Nick Antosca, based on the novel by Colleen Hoover

Presented by: Eat the Cat, Semi-Formal Productions, Shiny Penny, Somewhere Pictures, Heartbones Entertainment

Release Date: September 30, 2026 in Philippine cinemas nationwide

A Movie Review by: Goldwin Reviews