Verity: From the Pages to the Screen

Adaptation Anticipation// Taking a leap from the book to the big screen, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel Verity recently landed in theaters everywhere. Much like the book, this psychological thriller is filled with twists and turns that keep the viewers guessing until the very end. (Photo by Emma Fronczak)

*Will contain spoilers for the film Verity

After years of spiraling over the jaw-dropping book, the long-awaited film Verity finally arrived in theatres on October 2nd. With a powerhouse cast of Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett, the film lifts author Colleen Hoover's words right off the page in this unexpected rollercoaster of a ride.

The film follows Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), a struggling author who has been hired as a ghostwriter to finish the last three books in the series by bestselling author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway). Due to a severe car accident, Verity was completely catatonic and no longer able to continue writing, which is why her husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett) hired Lowen to write the last three books for her. Lowen was invited to stay at the Crawford home where Verity, Jeremy, and their son Crew lived, to collect information in Verity's office and create the outlines for the three remaining books.

During her stay, Lowen came across an unpublished and deeply personal autobiography that Verity wrote and kept hidden. The autobiography was highly intense and exposed many dark truths about Verity's life, including the preposterous confession that Verity was responsible for her daughter Harper's drowning and that it was purposeful, even though she had previously claimed that it was a tragic accident. There were many other horrific revelations that Verity made in her autobiography, including the fact that she secretly despised both of her children because her husband loved them more than he loved her. 

The more Lowen read, the stronger her animosity towards Verity grew. Eventually, Lowen showed the despicable autobiography to Jeremy and brought up the possibility that his wife may be faking her injuries, informing him of the many instances where she had sworn that Verity was showing signs of mobility. Due to the newfound knowledge that he gained, Jeremy hastily confronted his handicapped wife and challenged her to tell him what was really going on. The scene further escalated when Verity stunned the audience by finally moving and admitting that she had been faking the entire time. Appalled by this information, Jeremy made the impulsive decision to suffocate Verity with the assistance of Lowen, out of pure shock and fear after discovering what his wife had done. 

After successfully framing Verity's passing to appear as an accident, Lowen and Jeremy started a relationship together and decided to move to North Carolina to raise a family. Just as they were packing up the house, Lowen came across a handwritten letter that Verity had hidden in the floorboards. In the letter, Verity had stated that the entire autobiography was completely fake and that she was simply practicing antagonistic journaling. She claimed that after Harper had accidentally drowned, she began this type of journaling as a way to express herself, and since all of her books were written from the villain's point of view, she was really good at creating disgustingly believable yet fictional stories. After reading this incredibly pivotal letter, Lowen decided to destroy it and keep it a secret from Jeremy. The film concludes with Jeremy, Lowen, and Crew driving away to start their new life and never look back. 

While the main storyline of the film stayed true to the book, there were many key differences that the die-hard fans couldn't help but notice. In the novel, Lowen actually suffered from a severe sleepwalking disorder that became a huge part of her character's background, but it was excluded from the film. There were also various subtle differences that the fans still noticed, such as the fact that Verity was known for having blonde hair in the novel, whereas in the film she is a brunette. The biggest difference that even sparked some controversy among the fans was the fact that Jeremy and Verity actually had three children in the book. They had twin daughters named Harper and Chastin, and their son Crew, yet in the movie Harper and Crew were their only children.

Whether the fans prefer the movie adaptation or the original book, there is one question that remains constant: are you team letter or team autobiography? Discover your stance on this heated debate by catching the brand-new film Verity, in theaters now!