Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson have a mismatched genre face-off in Verity

In the semi-tawdry thriller Verity, Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway deliver contrasting performances in a face-off of mismatched genres. Johnson's character, Lowen Ashleigh, is a not-quite-successful novelist who admits to having a "resting boredom face" during the film. Hathaway plays Verity Crawford, a fellow writer whom Lowen comes to admire, but her character remains largely silent throughout the movie.

Hathaway's narration provides a voice for Verity, reciting her lines with arch dramatic affectation. The film's struggle lies in making these two star personas feel more than just recognizable but weightless paper dolls. The movie sets its scene in the world of sexy bestsellers, with Verity Crawford being the world's most popular novelist, and Lowen languishing on the lower end of midlist.

Despite Lowen's flattery at being Verity's first choice for finishing her series, she accepts a deal to stay at the Crawford household in Vermont while sorting through Verity's notes. Hathaway's frequent screen presence and Johnson's sexual-awakening routine contribute to the film's style, but ultimately, Verity fails to build to a fever pitch and falls short of evoking the ambiguity it attempts.