If you’re a fan of Anne Hathaway like I am, you may be excited to hear that she has signed on to become star of the prime video film, “Verity.” The announcement was recently made by an Amazon representative according to USA Today, “Verity” will be another film adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel.
Hoover has gained tremendous buzz in recent years, especially after the popularity “BookTok” has spread across Tiktok. Her book, “It Ends with Us” was already released as a film adaptation earlier this year on Aug. 9. The film, as you may have heard, gained quite a lot of controversy especially in relation to star, Blake Lively.
“iT ENDS WITH US” controversy
Lively has received a tremendous amount of backlash this year beginning and following the press tour of “It Ends with Us”. According to Vox, the criticism of Lively began over feuds with costar Justin Baldoni, who fans may recognize from “Jane the Virgin.”
Although the criticism of Lively began there, the critique of the famous actress also surrounded Lively’s poor advertisement of the film. “It Ends with Us” explored important themes of emotional and domestic abuse that Lively seemed to overshadow by promoting her haircare line on the press tour. Despite the controversy surrounding the film, it gained enormous popularity after it’s release with over $300 million in global ticket sales.
However, does the backlash over the lead stars overshadow the controversy of the film itself? Although I did not see the film adaption myself, both the book and Hoover have received backlash. Both have been critiqued as “romanticizing abuse.”
THE INFAMY OF COLLEEN HOOVER
Hoover herself has become almost infamous, largely due to criticisms like these. Whitney Atkinson, a book influencer, in regards to Hoovers’ books has said, “It was the same theme over and over again: Timid female characters and overbearing, abusive love interests” to CNN.
In the CNN article,”Colleen Hoover is the hottest author in America. She also may be the most controversial”, the controversy over Hoover is explored. The article calls into question her frequent classification as a romance author since not all her books are the happy endings expected of most romance novels.
Personally, I have not read many of Hoovers’ works. However, I did read her romance book, “Heart Bones.” From my perspective, the book was a bit grim and I didn’t enjoy the book as much as many of Hoovers’ fans seem to. Fans often describe her books as empowering because of her address of dark themes, but not all readers may perceive the books this way.
After hearing Atkinson’s criticism, I’m definitely hesitant to pick up another of Hoovers’ novels. As an avid reader, I can definitely say books where females are portrayed over and over as a doormat are not in the slightest bit appealing to me. However, since the books appeal to so many other readers, her novels may be something to read and form an opinion on myself.
will “verity” be better?
One of the books I may have to read by Hoover is “Verity” in anticipation of the adapted film that will star Anne Hathaway. “Verity,” according to Goodreads is a thriller novel that focuses on character Lowen Ashleigh. Lowen takes a position writing on behalf of a famous author, Verity, and finds a chilling autobiography in Verity’s belongings.
The premise is definitely interesting and I am excited to see how Anne Hathaway adds to the role. I do wonder, however, if the controversy over Hoover and “It Ends with Us” will continue in this next film adaptation. Will Hathaway end up receiving backlash over the role?
My hope as a fan of Hathaway is for the film to succeed. Hathaway will be working alongside director Michael Showalter in another collaboration between the two according to People magazine. They also worked alongside each other in the film “The Idea of You.” The film was released previously in March of this year and received high ratings. Hopefully, “Verity” will have similar success. Although no release date has been announced on the film, you can look forward to another Hathaway movie and put it on your “To Watch” list!