The Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial was televised in the summer of 2022 and gained a shockingly large following. The subject was heavily discussed on social media for months as millions of people watched the events of the trial unfold and reveal what went on in the relationship between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. Many initially sided with Amber Heard based on the domestic abuse accusations she had made several years prior. However, evidence unveiled throughout the trial shifted the public perception of Johnny Depp, showing that he had been the abused rather than the abuser. By the end of the trial, he had regained favor in the eyes of the public.

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Johnny Depp began dating actress Amber Heard in 2012, and the two married in 2015. In 2016, Amber Heard filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order against Johnny Depp a few days later. It was then that she began to make the allegations that Depp had been abusive to her. Depp denied these claims, but at this time, the #MeToo movement was ongoing, and Heard was believed over Depp.

A year later, in 2017, the divorce was settled and final. In 2018, Heard wrote and published an op-ed for The Washington Post claiming she had been abused. It was over this article that Depp sued Heard for defamation and stated that she was not the victim of domestic violence but rather the perpetrator.

The Tubi movie Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial summarizes what happened in court and depicts events as described by Depp and Heard. For anyone who didn’t watch the trial in its entirety and keep up on what was going on via social media and news outlets, the movie gives a very brief look into the seven-week trial. It was fast-tracked to be released at the end of September, only a few months after the final verdict of the trial was reached in June. So regardless if you closely followed the trial or not, is the movie worth the watch?

The Style and Tone of Hot Take Mocks the Trial

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With Mark Hapka as Johnny Depp and Mega Davis portraying Amber Heard, the movie takes snippets of the testimonies of Depp and Heard from the actual trial. There are scenes in the courtroom of the two testifying, but of course, this is not meant to be a documentary recreation. Attempting to dramatize the trial and provide entertainment, the film recreates events described by Depp and Heard. It looks at situations from both perspectives, emphasizing the differences in the accounts. And while Hapka and Davis do a decent job of matching the tone of each person’s testimony, the overall quality of the film’s acting is poor.

The flashbacks to when the couple first met and began their relationship, gave each other nicknames, and when Johnny proposes marriage to Amber are awkward and cringey to watch. The dramatic fighting and abuse scenes are interrupted by dialogue from the trial that takes the characters out of the scene or reworks what happened. They also vocalize how they supposedly felt during that time. Addressing the audience directly or quoting the testimonies of the trial takes away from the seriousness of some of these moments.

The movie also includes the social media circus that occurred while the trial was ongoing. While this adds another element to the film, it seems to shift the tone. The social media scenes depicted people on what can be assumed as TikTok, making their case for or against one party. It also includes the mockery that occurred, especially of Amber Heard. It makes these scenes rather comedic, which isn’t likely the intended tone. Unfortunately, the film almost takes on the style of a mockumentary. If it was designed to mock the trial and the drama between Depp and Heard, this film certainly achieves that.

What Hot Take Gets Right

That being said, there is something the film does right. Hot Take doesn’t seek to take sides of either Depp or Heard by portraying one or the other in a more negative or positive light. It takes a neutral stance, recreates the scenes based on their testimonies, and even shows both versions of events. It doesn’t attempt to tell the audience who is right or what the truth is because the reality is we don’t know for sure how these events actually played out.

After being presented with the testimonies and evidence of this case, the jury and the public came to their own conclusions. Although Depp won the case and regained his reputation, opinions still vary, and Heard still has a following.

Even depicting the social media aspect of mocking Amber Heard, the movie itself isn’t mocking her. Or at least that isn’t a focus. However, the movie does take on a mockumentary style, but of the entire trial and the drama between Depp and Heard rather than just Heard specifically. The film includes how the public reacted to the trial, and there was a lot of criticism and mockery of Heard and her testimony.

Perhaps the movie is worth watching for those who know very little about the trial and want a condensed version of what happened. Being fast-tracked to remain relevant to the mainstream seems to have compromised the quality, and it is hard to take the film seriously, even during scenes that are meant to be serious.