Depp V Heard 2023 / Facile at best and offensive at worst, this docuseries is a shallow take on the infamous celebrity case

Many things can be said about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s whirlwind relationship. It was messy, violent, and indicative of the massive power imbalance that prevails in Hollywood relationships. And the lawsuits that resulted from their offenses against each other were informative too; the ex-couple’s 2022 defamation trial was a landmark case that proved the power social media had in determining not just public opinion but the court’s verdict too. In other words, Depp and Heard’s relationship was an interesting case that warranted analysis and careful speculation. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get that treatment in this Netflix docuseries. Here, director Emma Cooper trades in nuance and expert commentary for cheap shots at both celebrities by way of borrowed clips from the internet. There are no interviews, no deep dives, no studies in this “documentary” (I genuinely struggle to call it that). Instead, it lazily and desperately relies on viral YouTube clips, TikTok videos, and archival footage for content. They are strung together in a haphazard fashion, barely coherent with all the memes and jokey music it employs. The defamation case could’ve been studied from a legal, psychological, or industrial point of view—instead, Cooper chooses to serve this pile of steaming garbage that resembles the media spectacle it claims to expose.