Netflix’s Depp v. Heard decodes the complex layers of the famous trial and gives the viewer a chance to see it all through an unbiased lens

Netflix’s Depp v. Heard takes us back to the trials of the famous defamation case of Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard and the moral approach of it needs to be talked about.

Last year in April, Fairfax County in Virginia and rest of the world witnessed the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard hurl accusations of defamation, domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment against one another and this could be considered the most famous lawsuit of the decade. Netflix’s Depp v. Heard is a 3 episode long documentary that takes us back to the courtroom. We all know how it all went, then what else can this documentary offer to its viewers? Though the documentary only shows facts and real trial videos, it gives a chance to viewers to understand the situation better and see it with a relatively unbiased lens. 

It all started when Amber Heard wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in 2018, where she wrote about being a victim of abuse. While she didn’t name Depp in the article, the timeline of her story matched the timeline of her marriage in 2015 and her divorce in 2016. In 2020, Depp and Heard went to a separate libel case after Depp sued the publisher of The Sun over a tabloid article. Amber won the trial at that time. In 2022, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation, claiming $50 million for the damages done to his reputation. Responding to that, Heard filed a counterclaim of $100 million.

Amber Heard was already lost even before the jury delivered their decision to favor Johnny Depp

How could one forget the memes that took over social media at that time? When it’s a controversy about two famous celebrities, it is bound to be discussed on social media but the chaos that we all witnessed during the course of the trial caused by YouTube channels and Tweets was not common. There were cameras in the courtroom and each minute of the trial was being recorded and televised and not long after this, the clips of the trial were being circulated on social media and so did the hate against Amber Heard. Somewhere the negativity against Amber Heard on social media could have contributed to the end result of the trial and even if it did not, the documentary shows how there was misinformation and unethical comments against Heard took over the internet. 

“Depp v. Heard” has presented the trial in a more empathetic way

The documentary starts with a disclaimer “The footage of the trial has been edited together for clarity, allowing their accounts to be shown side by side for the first time.” The documentary sticks to presenting facts and it also drops a dialog box between the episodes to give more clarity. After Depp’s attorney questioned Amber on not donating $7 million to charity like she said she would, the internet didn’t take long to accuse Heard for Lying. The documentary provides evidence on how pledging and donating are synonymously used terms when it comes to donating to organizations. For the first time, accounts of sexual assault were broadcasted to people outside court rooms, a similar dialog box appears after Amber’s chilling description of her experience. Towards the end, the statement in which Depp stated about never hitting Amber was put under suspicion. 

The 6 week long trial ended on 1st June where Jury’s verdict was in favor of all three defamation claims made by Johnny Depp and one for Amber Heard. After this, Depp released a statement saying “The Jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled” While Heard released a statement saying, “I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American– to speak freely and openly.” They both reached a settlement of $1 Million that was to be received by Johnny Depp. 

The documentary makes us question if the trial was ever about finding the truth for people out there or if they had already made up their minds to be biased against one party. When we are determined to believe in something, we reject every other voice of reason and every idea that doesn’t match ours. Many people have argued that the documentary aims to present Heard as the Victim. Everyone can have a different opinion on the documentary but it certainly has presented the case in a moral way.

Here is the trailer of Netflix’s Depp v. Heard:

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