Was Johnny Depp or Amber Heard worse then?
The new Netflix documentary doesn’t judge, it leaves it up to us. He asks questions.
After HBO did a short docuseries on the subject, Netflix also released its own version, which although it was a bit more informative, we feel it would have been nice to have more information, and more explanation of the case. Something that finally helps us understand what exactly happened between Depp and Heard. Nothing is certain in this case, and now it is conceivable, based on one of the closed and open clues that appears at the end of the film, that perhaps even at least one of the participants does not know exactly what happened between the two. Could Deb really not remember what he drank the day before? Do text messages confirm this? Among other things, we do not even know the answer to this question.
Which is bad because this was one of the important phases of #MeToo, and the trial of Depp and Heard could have set a precedent. Both sides received their verdict – Heard got the bigger one – but judging by the tapes of their confessions cut in parallel, it feels like two big kids with their egos and damaged personalities are playing with each other, with the help of a professional lawyer.
This wasn’t good for #metoo, and it certainly wasn’t good for Johnny Depp or Amber Heard – just the media and influencers, who, as the doc often reveals, were kneading their followers while the two celebrities in front of their eyes were doing laundry. It was a delicious party, we all really watched it, just like gladiator matches back then.
The case is complex and contains many question marks that have not been raised in cases related to stars in recent decades. With each step, we get a statement, which only raises more questions in the person, but we can no longer give them answers. Unfortunately, this is how the three-part docu-series is structured in such a way that we never feel like we get enough insight into this relationship, that we never really get a sense of what these two did to each other. It seems that it is not even possible to do this.
The documentary does not seek to establish its own narrative, but is satisfied with forming its own opinion on one line, which is the social and media aspect of the issue. He claims that the outcome of the case was severely affected by the media hysteria, but he does not express his opinion about the actors.
Unfortunately, the Amber-Johnny tragicomedy is so complex that even these three parts aren’t enough for the viewer to understand what happened and why, and the creators haven’t done any extra work to help them find their way through the piles of comedy. Information. It does not reveal connections or conduct further investigations into the case, which we would expect from a good documentary, but it does not show enough of the facts that emerged during the trial either.
However, what is quite clear is that Amber Heard made many mistakes throughout the series of trials, which could have caused the jury to lose confidence, and possibly destroyed her credibility, and thus could only have been almost out of the story. As a loser in America.
Turns out one piece of evidence, a concealer palette, was unavailable when they got married. According to Hurd, she used foundation cream to hide the signs of external damage caused by Depp. It is also possible that he actually used something like this from the same brand and missed it, but then, would you, dear reader as a jury, easily believe this and even his other claims? The jury certainly didn’t believe him after that. Anyone who is found to have lied about something during a US trial has largely lost the trust of the jury. Which is very necessary there, because they decide who will be right in the trial.
Then it turned out that he had also lied about the fact that he had actually donated the compensation he won in the London trial to charity – and that was the point where you could feel it was over, the case being decided here and now. And it is impossible to get out of it. And it didn’t work. It’s scary to watch this drop in retrospect. The story is mostly interesting from the point of view of analyzing the body language of a viewer who has previously watched a video analyzing real testimony. Heard is undoubtedly a worse actor than the genius Depp – who, if we pay close attention, can also be uncertain at certain points…
Hurd’s distrust of him was reinforced by the manner in which he made his confessions: he did so with such skill that one wonders if he was acting or if he was really moved by what he was talking about.
Based on the documentary, it can be felt that he succeeded in increasing the mistrust of this matter. And Johnny Depp, either instinctively or on the sound advice of his team, met it “professionally” with a disciplined admission: He spoke softly, used minimal facial expressions, but you could still feel his feelings. As in the movies, restrained communication often works best, and the principle of less is more, as we know, for example, from Robert De Niro. Heard’s inconsistencies completely suppressed the dubious episodes about Depp – for example. He documented his aggressive expressions – which Depp and his team then mounted with his winning behaviour.
The only thing that the viewer can be sure of at the end of the series is that this relationship bore a lot of harm and wounds, and the two parties only came out of it with more damage. It is difficult to judge whether the final decision was ultimately fair, even after the film, because there are still many question marks that remain vague. Johnny Depp’s career could certainly go on and Amber Heard’s career probably ended here. How is that fair? How fair is the almost black and white game in The Twilight Zone?
