Dakota Johnson Says 'Verity' Puts Truth and Trust to the Test

Dakota Johnson said Colleen Hoover’s psychological thriller “Verity” puts truth and trust to the test in ways that feel uncomfortably close to everyday life, speaking at the film’s UK premiere as the adaptation prepares for its global cinematic rollout, Reuters and the Evening Standard reported.

Johnson plays struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, who is hired to finish a book series for celebrated author Verity Crawford after an accident leaves Verity unable to write. The assignment pulls Lowen into the Crawford family’s secluded estate, where she finds what appears to be Verity’s autobiographical manuscript and begins to lose her footing between confession, manipulation and fiction.

“It’s so thrilling, it’s so sexy,” Johnson told Reuters. “You are constantly trying to figure out what the truth is and who the good people are and who the bad people are. It’s kind of a lot like life.” Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway co-stars as Verity, with Josh Hartnett as her husband, Jeremy. Michael Showalter directs the adaptation, which follows the Hollywood attention generated by another Hoover novel brought to screen, “It Ends With Us.”

At the London premiere, Johnson also told the Press Association she felt the pressure that comes with any beloved book adaptation, the Evening Standard reported. “I always feel like any book adaptation is tough because every person reading a book, the experience is so insular,” she said, adding that she still expects audiences to be excited and praising Hathaway’s work in the film.

Hartnett said the story’s refusal to spoon-feed conclusions is part of its draw. “What I love about this story is that it’s kind of a choose-your-own-adventure about who is the villain,” he told Reuters, joking that he wants popcorn-throwing debates in the aisles. He told the Standard he will not declare which ending theory he favors, because he wants viewers to argue about the manuscript, the letter and what they believe happened.

Showalter described Hoover’s novel as a glamorous, hypnotic world that is also scary and suspenseful. He told Reuters he wanted a mainstream film that trusted audiences with uncomfortable ideas, and he acknowledged the movie leans further into erotic themes while remaining largely faithful to the book. Hoover stayed closely involved, makes a cameo and, according to the Standard, shared her original manuscript Word document so the director could search her text during prep and later gave notes on cuts.

Hartnett said he was “mesmerised” watching Hathaway and Johnson work, telling Reuters the film “exists on their two faces.” Johnson, for her part, said the dark material sharpened her appetite for villain roles. “I would love to be a villain. It’s so fun to play a crazy person,” she told Reuters.

The UK special screening at Curzon Mayfair put the cast in front of British press a week before cinemas, with the Evening Standard noting the 2018 novel has sold more than one million copies and that the film is due in UK theaters on October 2. Reuters reported the global theatrical rollout begins September 30, positioning “Verity” as an early-fall adult thriller aimed at book fans and multiplex audiences alike.

For readers following Hollywood adaptations on Hollywood, the premiere comments underline how Hoover’s ambiguous ending remains a selling point rather than a problem to sand away. Showalter told the Standard it was important that Hoover liked the finished movie because the project ultimately serves her readers, describing Johnson, Hathaway and Hartnett as “three jewels in a crown.”

Showalter, known for “The Big Sick,” told Reuters he was captivated by the darkly seductive allure Hoover created on the page and wanted audiences to lose themselves in a world that is inviting and frightening at once. He said commercial cinema can still take on difficult subject matter without sanding it flat. “We can handle things that don’t feel everyday,” he said, framing “Verity” as a bet on adult viewers who will sit with ambiguity.

That bet is also a marketing posture. Hoover’s fans arrive with firm theories about the manuscript-versus-letter puzzle, and Hartnett’s refusal to pick a team is meant to keep those arguments alive after the lights come up. Showalter’s answer, according to both Reuters and the Standard, was constant consultation with Hoover from prep through post.

Whether that trust-the-audience gamble pays off will be measured in opening-weekend debate as much as ticket sales. If viewers leave arguing about who to believe, the filmmakers will have delivered the experience they described on the London carpet — a glossy thriller that refuses to settle the question of truth for anyone.