'The Trial', starring Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

The Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial began in Virginia in April. (Image: AFP)

Move over Marriage Story and Scenes From a Marriage, there’s a new red-hot marital show in town. The ongoing court case where superstar Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation, and she counter-sued him, is the longest running reality series on a marriage we have ever seen. Part documentary, part tabloid heaven, part live theatre, full-on blockbuster, here is The Trial, starring Depp and Heard.

After their recent divorce, all was seemingly quiet when Heard wrote an op-ed article on domestic abuse in The Washington Post. This had Depp fuming; even though she did not name him, he felt it was clear she was speaking of him. Claiming that he was the real victim of abuse and that he lost whopping amounts of money when movie projects dropped him post that article, he sued Heard for $50 million. She counter-sued him for double that amount. And here they are, in the legal arena, circling each other like long-time combatants, boxing gloves on.

There is romance, revenge, violence, mystery and suspense. The supporting cast is ever-changing – some cry, some quip – and the flashbacks come replete with syrupy honeymoon diary jottings and video footage of naked fury. Nothing so gory in the secretive territory of matrimony has ever been this open and accessible to the public. The details and the documented proof are lined up for random and spurious scrutiny in this courtroom drama.

What's exhumed is not just their hatred and battering, but also their romantic texts and pet names for each other. Somewhat like Harold Pinter’s 1978 play Betrayal, the story runs backwards, in reverse chronology. We saw Depp and Heard in their wedding pics, posing with dogs, and then getting a divorce. Now it is a slow-motion deconstruction of their matrimonial misadventure; audiences are privy to tonnes of minutiae.

Not that we have not craved a hit movie just like this, with celebs starring as themselves, and dark intimacies spilling out thick and fast exactly like this, but now that we have it before us, the reviews are mixed. Even as we gasp and gulp with the awareness that there is more to gasp and gulp about coming our way, perhaps we are finally done with gossip. It would seem the drama that the couple can drum up between them is endless, whether in the past or present. So far it has been one plot twist after another.

As the former couple continues to offload more personal history in all its messy glory, the attendant jokes and memes are a busy industry. Is Depp dating his lawyer, Camille Vasquez? And who is that man who laughed so much he had to be thrown out of court? Depp seems to be enjoying himself, as if this is just the role he was waiting for. Heard, whether in keeping with her story or in genuine fear, appeared to shrink when it seemed like they may come face to face in court.

With the stars themselves the script-writers, the ending is anyone’s guess.