When production notes for the twisty new psychological thriller Verity describe the imposing Vermont home of author Verity Crawford as a supporting character, they are hardly exaggerating. Based on Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, the film adaptation brings readers’ deepest psychological fears to life on screen. Starring Anne Hathaway as the titular lead and Dakota Johnson as struggling author Lowen Ashleigh, the movie follows Lowen as she journeys from the bustling streets of New York City into the isolated, moody woods of rural Vermont. There, she takes on a daunting ghostwriting project for Verity, who has been gravely injured in an accident.
"A writer’s words should be honest and bloody and a little bit terrifying," Verity announces from her immaculate desk, speaking directly to the camera with an unsettling intensity. As audiences soon discover, bloody and terrifying elements are very much on the horizon for everyone involved.
The secluded Vermont property immediately establishes the film’s pervasive, haunted atmosphere. This tense environment persists despite the earnest efforts of Verity’s husband, Jeremy Crawford, played by Josh Hartnett, who attempts to show Lowen around and make her feel welcome in her new surroundings. Inhabiting Verity’s former life—moving rapidly from her private office to her former marital bed—Lowen quickly becomes dangerously obsessed with the mysterious author’s life, family, and body of work. Along the way, she uncovers what appears to be a deeply sinister, hidden autobiography. This shocking discovery forces her to reckon with the real-world implications of a possible terrifying truth—or rather, verity itself.
Yet, despite the film being explicitly set against the rugged backdrop of rural Vermont, eagle-eyed architecture fans and cinephiles will soon realize that the movie’s primary location was pulled from an entirely different map. In place of scouting an actual residential property in Vermont, location manager Elizabeth Krekel and production designer Amy Williams successfully located the ultimate villain’s lair much closer to production hubs, deep within the upscale neighborhoods of Westchester County, New York.
"I was looking for something modern and ominous because that’s how it’s written," Krekel explains in the official production notes. While the general atmospheric vibe of the home was clearly laid out in the text, the actual physical design details were far less defined. "There was a lot of conversation about what the house looks like, ’cause it’s not really described in the book," Williams elaborates, noting the unique challenges of adapting a beloved literary hit. "We were a little bit nervous that the fans might have imagined something more traditional, but ultimately, this big swing made the movie what it is."
Describing the visceral impact of the final product, Williams notes that the cinematic experience is uniquely jarring. "The book is even more disturbing," she says when discussing the sheer fear factor of watching the unfolding psychological thriller in a dark theater. To bring this complex narrative to life, the dedicated production crew worked across multiple seasons, filming extensively across upstate New York as well as in and around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens to capture the distinct moods of both the city and the country.
Lowen’s Bookshop Reading
As Verity commences, long before the narrative takes a sharp and terrifying turn toward the dark and macabre, audiences are introduced to the protagonist, Lowen Ashleigh, in New York City. Operating as a relatively unsuccessful author trying to make her mark, she is seen reading an intimate excerpt of her latest work in the cozy back room of a local bookstore. For Brooklyn residents who love to read and support local businesses, the location will feel instantly familiar: it is none other than Books Are Magic, nestled in the heart of Carroll Gardens. While everyday visitors might not actually be able to purchase any fictional titles authored by Lowen Ashleigh off the shelves, they can certainly pick up a few genuine volumes of Colleen Hoover’s celebrated work there.
Lowen’s (Not So) Meet-Cute With Jeremy
Following a promising and career-shifting phone call from her literary agent, Corey, played by Ismael Cruz Córdova, Lowen heads directly to Midtown Manhattan for a mysterious, high-stakes meeting at the corporate offices of the Hachette Book Group. En route to the professional appointment, she unexpectedly witnesses a harrowing and fatal car crash right on the city streets. Immediately after the tragic incident, she locks eyes with a handsome stranger whom she will soon come to know as Jeremy Crawford.
The intersection setting of this tone-setting devastation is located precisely where Park Avenue meets East 41st Street—merely a single block away from the historic architecture of Grand Central Station. Williams explains that the production team deliberately chose one of the busiest, most congested, and least film-friendly spots in the city. "We instantly attracted paparazzi, so it was a very well-documented scene, but it was the perfect location for texture and just to really feel that Midtown hustle and bustle."
The Hachette Office Meeting
Moments later, cleaned up from the traumatic street incident and now wearing Jeremy’s oversized, crisp white button-up shirt—buttoned all the way to the top, which Lowen playfully defends as "fashion"—the two enter the professional offices of the Hachette Book Group. "That was actually at Colleen Hoover’s publisher," Williams reveals, expressing her gratitude. "Which was kind of incredible that they gave us access. Her story editor facilitated everything for us."
The production crew temporarily took over the actual publishing offices, meticulously redecorating the corporate environment and covering the surrounding walls in professionally framed book jackets featuring fictional titles by Verity Crawford. Sharp-eyed fans will also notice a delightful Easter egg hidden within this sequence: Colleen Hoover herself makes a brief cameo appearance playing the office receptionist.
A Literary Meeting Over Dinner
New York food enthusiasts and culinary travelers will easily recognize the vibrant local restaurant where Lowen takes a subsequent professional meeting with her agent, Corey. The scene was captured at Rolo’s, a popular dining establishment located in Ridgewood, Queens. Famous across the borough for its signature wood-fired polenta bread, scratch-made house-made pasta, and notoriously limited-availability gourmet burgers, the restaurant makes a short, stylish, and welcoming appearance in the film.
The Bar Where Verity and Jeremy Meet in a Flashback
As Lowen meticulously pores over Verity’s apparent autobiographical writings, key elements of the past are brought vividly to life through dramatic flashbacks. One of the most pivotal of these sequences depicts Verity and Jeremy’s initial meet-cute at a chic Manhattan bar, with Verity purposefully donning her signature, striking shade of red. The sophisticated bar setting, which is actually part of the historic Beekman Hotel in Lower Manhattan, is Laissez Faire. It is a high-end, exclusive cocktail lounge situated in the Financial District, chosen specifically because it features a discreet back-alley exit allowing the characters to slip out unnoticed into a waiting limousine.
The Crawford Vermont Home
The vast majority of the nearly two-hour psychological thriller takes place within the claustrophobic confines of the Crawford family home. Designed originally by renowned Danish sculptor and designer Jens Risom, the property—known as the Beckoning Path house—is a sprawling, ultra-modern architectural masterpiece located in Armonk, New York, that typically functions as a private wellness retreat complete with a swimming pool and a dedicated tai chi studio.
Williams had previously collaborated with director Michael Showalter on two of his earlier film projects. When Verity was first brought to her attention, she was initially uncertain whether her packed professional schedule would allow her to commit to the demanding production. However, everything changed when Showalter’s assistant discreetly slipped her a handful of photographs showcasing the Armonk property under consideration. "And as soon as I saw [them] I was like okay, clear my calendar! I was sold instantly," Williams recalls.
The grand residential home ultimately felt like it was meant to be part of the film’s DNA, featuring sharp angular architecture and striking V-shaped windows—a subtle nod to the letter V for Verity. The owner of the Beckoning Path property proved remarkably receptive to allowing the film crew to redecorate the expansive space to suit the narrative needs of an author’s dark domain. Crew members constructed temporary interior walls and installed custom bookshelves to make the layout feel more authentic to a writer’s residence. While they utilized the home’s real kitchen and several surrounding living areas for filming, other specialized spaces—most notably Verity’s private writing office—were meticulously recreated on a dedicated sound stage.
The office environment was treated as a critical focal point of the production design, crafted with substantial creative input from both Showalter and Anne Hathaway, who additionally served as a producer on the film. "We wanted to hit a very specific note with it," Williams notes. "Michael wanted it to feel very womb-like and feminine, but also kind of glammy." The resulting space functions simultaneously as part Hollywood dream office and part calculated villain’s lair, uniquely saturated with reflective surfaces. Williams specifically selected soft pink hues for the custom carpets and executive desks to ensure the colors popped dynamically against Hathaway’s complexion. Initially, Williams felt hesitant about the concept of a dedicated author’s writing hideaway featuring so few visible books, but the clever reveal that the mirrored walls open up into hidden bookcases ultimately made perfect sense for a secretive and deceptive character like Verity.
Not only did the physical house prove to be an ideal location match, but the surrounding property also gelled naturally with the evolving storyline. The residence felt "like a shipwreck at sea," Williams muses—a description that, for those familiar with the twists of the full story, carries multiple layers of meaning. In a particularly memorable sequence, Verity takes her young children out onto the lake directly outside their home for an afternoon canoe ride. Conveniently, the Armonk property featured its own body of water, enabling the crew to return during the warm summer months to capture the sequence, contrasting sharply with the winter conditions dominating the rest of the movie’s shooting schedule.
Lowen’s Birthday Dinner
Amid mounting romantic and psychological tension between the characters, Jeremy takes Lowen out to celebrate her birthday in a nearby town. He brings her to one of her favorite local spots, an authentic Bavarian restaurant. This festive scene was filmed on location at Zum Stammtisch, a historic, family-owned pub serving hearty German fare in Glendale, New York. In Hoover’s original novel, the celebration takes place at an Italian eatery, but the production team pivoted for cinematic convenience. "We found this really charming, historic Bavarian restaurant in Queens that was near our stage," Williams explains, adding a fun behind-the-scenes detail: "Our director of photography actually was a background waiter in lederhosen." The production crew enjoyed the establishment so much that they ate meals there multiple times throughout the shoot, with Williams readily offering a culinary endorsement for anyone visiting the neighborhood: "I recommend the pretzels."
