Verity is as much the story of the film’s namesake as is the story of the characters that unfold that story.
In the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s sensual psychological thriller, celebrated author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) has requested to hire struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) to help ghostwrite her upcoming novels.
As Lowen stays in the Crawfords’ home, living with an unresponsive Verity, her husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and their son Crew (Brady Wagner), she uncovers disturbing secrets that change the reality she’s come to believe.
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As the filmmakers found the perfect Verity in Anne Hathaway, they set off to find Lowen, an author who hasn’t found much success in her published work, and has recently lost her mother to cancer. They found exactly what they’re looking for in Dakota Johnson. “Lowen is an extremely complicated, grieving, confused, sort of lost but brilliant person,” the actress explains.
Johnson was thrilled to receive the role, as Lowen’s complex personality was good material to sink her teeth into. “She ends up getting involved in this family and their web of secrets and lies and truths like a moth to the flame.” Johnson says. “She’s got a pretty traumatic past. She means well and is trying to succeed in being an author, but she’s also in a vulnerable place that starts to impact her judgment.”
Hathaway was also elated in performing alongside Johnson, remembering one of her impressive performances during shooting. “To listen to the musicality of the language, it was genuinely thrilling. I loved it so much and I love what she’s doing in this performance,” she says. “Dakota connects so deeply in an emotional way with every beat. She has that thing where you can see thoughts just flit across her face, but she also is really mysterious at the same time. That combination of emotional transparency and the mystery that she brings in, it’s an unbelievable combination. I wish we had more scenes together.”
Director Michael Showalter was excited to finally collaborate with Johnson, knowing that she embodies how they imagine Lowen to be.”I love Dakota and have always wanted to work with her,” says Showalter. “She has such a unique onscreen presence and an aura. This part is really perfect for her.”
Even though Verity is a dark film, Josh Hartnett had fun working with Johnson. “She is showing a side of herself in this film that I don’t think people have seen before,” says Hartnett. “Both of the actresses who I work with in Verity are phenomenal presences on screen. Dakota is so charming, she makes you feel so at home when you’re working with her. We had a really good time doing our scenes together. It’s nice to work on a film where genuinely everybody is there to do a good job and are also really good people.”
It was an immediate yes for author Colleen Hoover when Johnson came into the picture. “I’m such a big fan of hers. I am friends with E.L. James and so when they put her in that role for 50 Shades of Grey, I feel like I got to follow along with her rise and her career as a fan first,” says the author. “And then when they cast her in this, she’s the perfect Lowen for me. She embodies everything that I was hoping an actress could bring to that role and she’s just so effortlessly gorgeous on screen and in person and so kind.”
The mystery grows as Verity arrives in Philippine cinemas on September 30.
 has requested to hire struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) to help ghostwrite her upcoming novels.){kind=link}