Less than a year after his very public split from ex-wife Amber Heard in 2016, Johnny Depp signed on to star in a film that would be largely overshadowed by the scandals that engulfed him. Released in 2018, Richard Says Goodbye (also known as The Professor) stars Depp as a university professor whose life unravels. Viewed in hindsight, the role bears more than a passing resemblance to the turmoil that was unfolding in Depp’s own life at the time.
The film’s premise is interesting enough. On receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, Richard (Depp) learns he’s got just six months to live. Deciding not to tell anyone, he spirals into self-destruction as his relationship with his wife (Rosemarie DeWitt) deteriorates. In response, Richard lets go of all convention and indulges in drinking, drugs and sex without a single thought for the consequences. Only his daughter (Odessa Young) and best friend (Danny Huston) stick by him as he picks fights with the hypocrites and petty authority figures he’s put up with for too long.
At its core, the film presents Richard as a man who believes he has nothing left to lose – a trope that held obvious resonance for Depp at a time when his own life was seemingly imploding, with his reputation under intense scrutiny and his Hollywood career increasingly uncertain.
(Richard Says Goodbye is available to stream on Tubi)
A striking parallel
Depp first met Heard on the set of The Rum Diary in 2009 and they began dating in 2012. When the couple married in February 2015, it caused a rift between the actor and his sister, who was opposed to the wedding and concerned that her brother hadn’t arranged a prenup prior to tying the knot.
Just 15 months later, the marriage fell apart, with Heard filing for divorce alongside a domestic violence restraining order. The divorce was finalised in 2017, around the same time that Depp was filming Richard Says Goodbye.
In 2018 the actor welcomed Rolling Stone magazine into his London mansion for a no-holds-barred interview. The result was a revealing profile of Depp that offers a rare glimpse of the personal toll the controversy was taking on him. “I was as low as I believe I could have gotten,” Depp said of the divorce.
In a sharp parallel to the movie’s titular character and his growing hostility towards hypocritical people and institutions, Depp was similarly flailing – drinking too much and acting recklessly while also trying to understand why this awful thing was happening to him. “I kept trying to figure out what I’d done to deserve this, I’d tried being kind to everyone, helping everyone, being truthful to everyone.”
Depp also detailed his attempt to write a memoir on an old manual typewriter, which hinted at the real depths of his despair. “I poured myself a vodka in the morning and started writing until the tears filled my eyes and I couldn’t see the page anymore.”
Richard Says Goodbye made its world premiere in October 2018 at the Zurich Film Festival. Despite featuring one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, the movie performed poorly at the box office and is one of the lesser-known movies in Depp’s filmography.
The critics seemed less than impressed with the offering, with Variety film critic Guy Lodge describing it as “…a retrograde celebration of toxic male dysfunction, with women existing solely to inspire the protagonist’s rebellion.” Meanwhile, James Berardinelli of ReelViews said, “What is supposed to represent a mans carpe diem plunge turns into a monument to narcissism.”
At a time when unresolved allegations against Depp were dominating headlines, it was perhaps inevitable that the character was being viewed through the lens of the actor’s personal life. Critics weren’t merely reviewing a fictional character in 2018 – Richard’s bitterness, reckless behaviour and contempt for authority became impossible to separate from the public’s perception of Depp amid his very public relationship breakdown.
Lost in the noise
Conflict continued to escalate that year, with Heard publishing a damning op-ed in The Washington Post accusing Depp of domestic violence, while Depp’s 2020 libel case loss against The Sun newspaper cost him major roles in big Hollywood franchises.
The dispute reached its most public stage in the 2022 Virginia defamation trial, which ultimately found Heard liable for defaming Depp through statements contained in the op-ed. After the former spouses reached a US$1 million settlement in June 2023, they went their separate ways – Heard to live a quiet life in Spain with her children and Depp to regain a foothold as one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars.
The film was largely lost in the noise surrounding Depp but knowing what was happening in his life at the time, there’s something almost eerie about watching him play a man who has reached the point where he no longer cares what anyone thinks or what happened next.
Seen from that perspective, it feels less like a forgotten dramedy and more like an accidental portrait of Depp during one of the most turbulent chapters of his life.
(Richard Says Goodbye is available to stream on Tubi)