Hot Take: Trailer for film on Amber, Johnny’s infamous trial is out

In addition to Mark Hapka as Depp and Megan Davis as Heard, the cast also features Melissa Marty as Camille Vasquez, Depp’s attorney and Mary Carrig as Elaine Bredehoft, Heard’s attorney. Executive producers of the film include Brittany Clemons, Angie Day, Marianne C Wunch, Hannah Pillemer, and Fernando Szew. Guy Nicolucci wrote the screenplay and Sara Lohman directed it.

“Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial is a Tubi original movie based on the controversial defamation trial that shook the world,” reads the caption. To be released on September 30, the film’s trailer appears to have failed miserably at receiving a warm welcome from Twitter critics. That isn’t surprising given that Depp and Heard’s fans had kept a keen eye on the infamous trial.

“What was the need?” exclaimed a disgruntled Twitter user. And really, what was the need? For the fans, there were only two sides to the case. A side that supported Heard because they believed that she had faced domestic violence and a side that believed that Depp was wrongly accused. A third side believed in the grey. To them, it wasn’t as black and white as it was made to appear.

Everybody who followed the case had an opinion on it – a rather strong one indeed. The case had sparked a social media debate over how the trial itself was distressing, to say the least. The longevity of the conflict between the two parties (dating back to 2016) only added to its anguish and absurdity. It was a trial that tiptoed on the blurred lines that demarcate abuse and illness. It was a trial that made people question their ideas about assault and consent. It was a trial that triggered people because of their personal experiences. A trial that ruffled feathers; why would anyone want to relive it? 

Now, that a film has been made about it and is ready for release, prompts a few more questions about the trial itself. Whilst many celebrated that the trial was finally over and the jury ruled Depp victorious, many also believed that it only strengthened the status quo. Regardless of who believes what, it won’t be entirely wrong to assert that the film may have arrived sooner than it should have – only to rub salts on wounds that are still fresh.