Greetings again from the darkness. Verity Crawford’s mid-century modern lake house/mansion is jaw-dropping and a true architectural marvel (actually located in Armonk, NY). Of course, if the best thing I can say about a film is that the title character’s house is amazing … well, you have a good idea how I felt about it. Still, I will not be bashing the movie as I might have if I had watched it on my own. Instead, I was in a theater full (mostly adult women) of fans of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling 2018 novel (I have not read it), and as shown by audience reactions, the vast majority thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
Directed by Michael Showalther (THE BIG SICK, 2017) with an adapted screenplay from Nick Antosca (creator of the AppleTV series “Cape Fear”), the film will likely be a hot topic of discussion within the many Book Clubs that had Ms. Hoover’s novel on their lineup a few years ago. The cast, like that house, is nothing short of gorgeous. Dakota Johnson (of “Fifty Shades” franchise fame) plays struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, who is recruited to ghostwrite the next three novels for uber-popular novelist Verity Crawford, played by Oscar winner Anne Hathaway. Verity has been an invalid, unable to speak or walk, since a car accident that occurred not long after her daughter drowned in the lake. Verity’s husband, Jeremy, is played by Josh Hartnett (OPPENHEIMER, 2023), and Lowen’s agent, Corey, is played by Ismael Cruz Cordova (MISS BALA, 2019).
That’s four gorgeous actors in a film that aspires to the genre of psychological erotic thriller. The only issues with that label are that the sex scenes are lame and awkward, while the psychological aspects are cliché and easy to predict. Or at least I thought so … the audience reactions seemed to prove otherwise. In flashback scenes, we see Verity interviewed by the familiar faces of Gayle King (“CBS Mornings”), podcaster Alex Cooper, and Sean Evans (YouTube’s “Hot Ones”). This is meant to create a contemporary feel.
Much of the film’s tone is related to the discovery of Verity’s autobiographical notes, and Lowen’s reaction. I’ll certainly not go into the twists and turns served up here, other than to say viewers are supposed to accept the theme of writers treating truth as fiction, and fiction as truth. It doesn’t help the movie that none of the actors give their best performance, leaving us with cheesy melodrama (no, not all melodrama is cheesy). Judging by the audience, that’s evidently sufficient. Either way, what a stunning house!
Opens in theaters on October 2, 2026
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. I’m sure Scott Cooper is a well-adjusted, happy guy. At least I hope so. However, if he were to be judged only by his movies, we would assume the man is humorless and focused on serious topics only. He’s also extremely talented as a filmmaker, as evidenced by CRAZY HEART (2009), OUT OF THE FURNACE (2013), BLACK MASS (2015), and HOSTILES (2017). This latest is his first monster movie, and again – no happy thoughts, despite the expert craftsmanship. Mr. Cooper co-wrote the script with Henry Chiasson, and Nick Antosca’s, adapting Antosca’s short story, “The Quiet Boy”.
