Chappaquiddick (2018)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I don´t believe they made a movie with this story. how did Kennedy got out of the car? with all the Windows and doors were closed? i say this because mary jo had no Windows or doors open......... the car aparently had no major hurts, but if iu wnat to tell the truth, and have budget for it, stick to the reality. about the argment, was it like that in the 60´s?why kennedy´s didn´t answer the law like others? how did a journalist saw Kennedy walking normal after accident, and didn´t report him? was usa so corrupt at the time? by the way, jason made a good performance but that´s not enough.

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from a Redbox rental. We both were young adults when the depicted events happened and as such enjoyed the visual story and depictions of what all transpired.The movie covers just one week in the life of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, younger brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy. The story is an irony of sorts, JFK may be best known for his early 1960s declaration that we would land on the moon before the end of the decade, and we did in July 1969, the same week that younger brother Ted was involved in the accident that resulted in his losing his chance to become President. Fame and shame for the Kennedy family in the same week in 1969.Jason Clarke is really effective as Ted Kennedy, portrayed as a somewhat spoiled man of a rich family, when he needed something done he expected others to do it for him, promptly. From my own perspective, as a citizen watching Ted Kennedy, I believe it was in the best interests of our country that he did not become president.Kate Mara is effective as Mary Jo Kopechne, although her role is rather brief. The filmmakers claim their research and input from those in the know resulted in a very accurate depiction of that week, and it comes across that way. A rather large political machine spinning the events in a way to reduce the political impact on Kennedy. A quick inquest and arraignment was followed by Kennedy pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, he served no jail time, was on parole for a year, and was reelected as Senator.

In the bonus track of the DVD of "Chappaquiddick," the film artists made the case for their film as a sincere recreation of the events on and following July 18, 1969, when Mary Jo Kopechne drowned in a vehicle driven by Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Unfortunately, the result of the film was a piece of fluff that felt more like the imaginative words of screenwriters than reality.There is no doubt that Sen. Kennedy should have been liable for manslaughter, given that he failed to call for first responders and did not even report the incident that he knew had taken the life of Miss Kopechne. There was even a house within walking distance of the bridge where Kennedy could have phoned for help. Instead, he did nothing, and that is the essence of the story of the tragedy at Poucha Pount.But this film goes well beyond what is known about the case to spin a character portrayal of a morose, self-destructive Kennedy that almost willed the tragedy at the bridge to fulfill his avoidance of having to run for president and continue the Kennedy legacy. The mood of Kennedy was gloomy and despondent throughout the film, as articulated in a line that Kennedy has "been on this path since Bobby died." But the self-loathing path was never convincing.Given the limited amount of factual information we have about the hours leading up to and following the accident, the filmmakers could have reigned in the tremendous license taken with hypothetical conversations. The banter at the party for the "boiler girls" seemed artificial and far too subdued. This was supposed to be a celebration, not a wake. Likewise, the dialogue between Kennedy and his two sidekicks, Gargan and Markham, was difficult to believe. The research team could have especially probed deeper into the testimony of Gargan. Yet another flaw in the film was the portrayal of the powerful Kennedy loyalists who served as the "fixers" in the case to ensure that Kennedy would get off with the most lenient sentence. Once again, the filmmakers twisted characters like Robert McNamara and Ted Sorensen into clichés that often lapsed into comedy. When the Chappaddick affair is likened to the Bay of Pigs incident, the film lost all of its momentum.Another glaring oversimplification was to assert that Chappaquiddick doomed Ted Kennedy's candidacy for president. This is inaccurate. It was not until a Roger Mudd interview conducted on CBS with Senator Ted Kennedy on November 4, 1979, that Kennedy's poor performance on national television made it clear that he would never unseat Jimmy Carter as the Democratic Party nominee that year. For the balance of his career, Kennedy settled on being the "Lion of the Senate," perhaps achieving more in practice than the short-lived political careers of his elder brothers.The most successful part of this substandard historical film was the dignity given to Miss Kopechne, who was a dedicated Kennedy loyalist with a bright future. As depicted in the film, the loss of this young woman was as painful as it was unnecessary.

This film presents a very soft example of why all those single girls were invited to an evening with powerful politicians. To discuss political strategy? Give me a break. Doesn't matter much about the aftermath. This was typical Kennedy behavior, except this time it ended in tragedy.