‘Verity’: Anne Hathaway on Whether She’s Team Letter or Manuscript

[Warning: This story contains spoilers for the Verity film].

The ending of Verity has fans divided: Did Verity Crawford tell the truth in her manuscript, or was the letter Lowen found at the end of the movie telling the true story?

Like fans of the movie, and Colleen Hoover’s book on which the movie is based, star Anne Hathaway (who plays the titular character in the film), has her own thoughts.

“Letter,” Hathaway tells The Hollywood Reporter when asked if she’s team manuscript or team letter. “The reason that I’m letter, and I know that a lot of people who are team manuscript, they’re like, ‘No, she just wrote the letter to cover her you know what.‘ I’m like, she’s a terrified woman being very, very careful. And this is my thing about the manuscript: There’s a passage where Lowen is describing it, and she’s like, ‘I’ve got to be honest, this book isn’t very good, and it’s really just a lot about sex.’ And she’s just like, ‘I was pretty bored during the next 100 pages,’ but she said how much she was surprised that she liked Verity’s writing, and I think that if Verity really was this no good, villainous, horrible evil murderess that she’s made out to be, don’t you think the book that she would have written about herself would have been excellent?”

She adds: “I don’t know. I don’t trust Lowen. I don’t think Lowen’s well, and I think she sees herself as a victim in all situations, and I definitely don’t trust Jeremy. He goes from zero to crazy angry, real fast.”

Verity follows Lowen Ashleigh (played by Dakota Johnson), a struggling writer hired to finish the bestselling book series of renowned author Verity Crawford after an accident leaves her incapacitated. While working at the Crawford home, Lowen discovers a secret manuscript containing Verity’s apparent autobiographical notes, raising disturbing questions about her past and sending her spiraling over what to believe. Josh Hartnett stars as Verity’s husband Jeremy.

In a separate interview with THR, Hoover admits her own read of what‘s real has shifted. “When I wrote the book and ended it how I ended it, I was in Lowen’s perspective. It was first-person from Lowen, so I was just as confused as she was, and I’ve carried that with me until recently. I had to read it again for the first time after watching the film, and I think the film influenced me. I’ve actually gained a whole new perspective, and I still don’t know.”

Director Michael Showalter isn’t sure where he stands, either. “All the actors have their own version of what they believe is true, and I wanted to honor each of their versions,” he says. “So I’m agnostic.”

Verity hit theaters this Friday and nabbed the top spot on the domestic box office chart, earning $32.6 million from 3,510 North American locations. Its budget was $40 million.