Originally published November 2018

The Kennedy name is synonymous with several different words, some positive, and some negative, depending on whether you like them or not. They're American royalty, in some ways. Known for presidential races, heroics in World War II, and controversy. For everything a Kennedy has done that is considered brilliant and praiseworthy, there have also been clouds of doubt and controversy hovering over the family for something that was likely covered up and kept out of the public. Chappaquiddick tells the story of how the last surviving son of Papa Joe Kennedy, Ted, was on his way to the presidency, following the footsteps of his brothers, until a tragic mistake practically derailed his career.

Growing up, I'd always heard plenty of praise for the Kennedys, as though they were the saviors of the nation. John and Bobby Kennedy are often revered for their time in government before their tragic deaths. Even Ted, who was the one I heard the most jokes about, was still considered a noble and great senator by people I knew. However, the fact that he killed someone while he was a senator, and how that incident prevented him from becoming president, rarely ever seemed to come up in conversation.

Pros

• Terrific acting from the main and supporting cast

• Good casting; Jason Clarke looks convincingly like Ted Kennedy

• Solid pacing never makes the movie feel low or dull

Cons

• Sound editing could be better; some voices sounded off in some scenes

• Too many reuses of the same 2 songs in the background

• Some of the dialogue could have been flushed out a bit more

Plot & Thoughts

As the world looked on and watched America make history with the flight and success of Apollo 11, Ted Kennedy was at a retreat in Massachusetts with close friends and political allies. One such friend and ally was Mary Joe Kopechne (Kate Mara), who was accompanying Ted in the car when he suddenly drove the car off a bridge and into a shallow section of a lake. While the real historical events are still somewhat uncertain, due to the efforts of many to cover it up, Chappaquiddick attempts to tell a believable version of the events and provide a little backstory to everything that occurred.

As it occurred in the film, Kennedy was driving while intoxicated, drove off a bridge, escaped from the flooded car, and was unable to rescue Bobby Joe trapped inside. Rather than call the authorities, he gets his friends and lawyers to come attempt to open the car themselves, to no avail. Instead of calling the authorities after that failed attempt, Kennedy let the whole night pass and continued to make one mistake after another in his attempts to keep his political career afloat, while dealing with the guilt that was driving him to confess what he'd done. Those who have a vested interest in his survival get involved. Then, the movie focuses on how a group of smart men with deep connections helped reduce the damage to his career, despite Ted's best efforts to screw it up.

The very fact that someone made a movie about this event, which was all but swept under the rug and never mentioned when discussing the legacy of Ted Kennedy, could be seen by his devoted fans as a partisan attack on his character. However, Chappaquiddick does a good job of keeping the tone somewhat neutral and matter-of-fact. It avoids painting Kennedy as an evil or malicious individual, just a flawed human being who is overwhelmed and occasionally succumbs to the pressures and desires of those around him. Kennedy just comes across as pathetic, more than anything else, however, Chappaquiddick shows that he's able to turn on the political face rather easily and speak very well into a camera.

The supporting cast really helps sell this movie. Kennedy's friends, his father, and his father's friends are all well-acted and help add to the drama and characterization of Ted. The characterization of Ted Kennedy and his cousin Joeseph Gargan (Ed Helms), in particular, is great. I found the portrayal of the two to be very interesting due to the guilt both of them felt and how it affected them differently. It was a good dynamic that added to the drama of each scene they shared. I would have liked to have spent a bit more time with Mary Joe Kopechne just because the impact of her death, while heavy on the characters, was so early in the film that I still didn't really know her unless I looked her up on Wikipedia.

If I were to lodge any complaint against this movie, it would be the overall sound direction and editing. There were a few scenes where the voices of the actors fluctuated enough to be noticed, which is always a bit distracting. More distracting to me, however, was the frequent use of the same songs from the soundtrack. I love melancholic classical music probably more than the average movie-viewer, but I don't really want to keep hearing the same two songs for two hours just because someone decided to make them the theme of the movie. He's written other melancholic and dramatic songs that could have been used to add a little variety to the mix.

TL;DR (Conclusion)

Chappaquiddick is a straightforward drama that does a good job of portraying real-life events in a way that is not over-indulgent or politically charged. There is plenty of material in this movie to criticize Ted Kennedy, but the film never tries to portray him as a heartless or malicious individual. The strength of the acting in the primary and secondary characters helps sell the drama and emotion of the film past its minor faults and easily makes Chappaquiddick a good watch.

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