Can an actor find success again after a big public mess? Amber Heard, known to many not just as an actor but as a person in a very public and nasty trial, tries to answer this with her new film, "In the Fire."
"In the Fire" is a movie set in the old times of the 1890s, where Amber Heard plays a doctor, Grace Burnham. Grace goes to a far-off plantation to help a little boy, Martin, who the local people believe is a kind of demon. Grace, who uses science to understand the mind, tells the boy's dad and a kind priest that the boy isn't a demon. She thinks science can help figure out what’s happening with him.
But the movie doesn't give us much time to explore that, as the local villagers, very upset and afraid, want to hurt the boy. Grace tries to save him, but the movie moves from one scene to another without letting us get too close to the characters or the story.
Even though Amber Heard tries hard, her acting in the film isn’t getting a lot of praise. And because of her recent past and the trial that made a lot of news, people are watching her work even more closely now.
Public attention can be good for a small movie like this, helping it get noticed. But “In the Fire” is not a hit and perhaps needed to be better to really make use of all that attention. It's now in some theaters and available to watch at home, waiting for audiences to decide if Amber Heard, and the film itself, can find a way back into their good graces.