'Chappaquiddick' Is a Riveting Look on a Major Scandal in American History

Ted Kennedy was the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy.  Being born into a powerful political family, he unsurprisingly also entered politics.  At one point, he also aspired to become president like his older brother, but it never materialized.  One reason why was because he had earned a good deal of infamy from his involvement in the “Chappaquiddick incident.”

On the night of July 18, 1969, Ted held a party at a rented cottage Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts.  At around 11 pm, he left with a young woman named Mary Jo Kopechne – one of the so-called “Boiler Room Girls”, the all-female campaign staff for his brother Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign.  On the way, he took a wrong turn and drove his car off a bridge, sending it plunging toward the water.  The vehicle was turned upside down underwater, but though Ted was able to get out of it and swim to shore, his passenger did not.  His transgression extended post-driving accident as he didn’t act accordingly afterwards, including not reporting to the police what had happened for ten hours.  Meanwhile, Mary Jo perished in the car.  According to observers, it horrifically took hours before she died; her death was not due to the trauma of the accident or drowning, but of suffocation when the air bubble in the car gave out.  Supposedly, if Ted had reported it immediately, there was a chance she would have been saved.

During the trial – just a week after the incident – Ted pleaded guilty to the charge of leaving the scene of an accident causing bodily injury.  He was sentenced to a mere two-month incarceration, the minimum for such offense, and this was even absurdly suspended.  The scandal would hinder him from declaring his candidacy for president in 1972 and 1976, and when he finally did in 1980, this was often brought up in the primaries, which played a part on why he lost the Democratic Party nomination to Jimmy Carter (who later lost to Republican Ronald Reagan).  Nevertheless, he had continued to have a successful political career, getting elected into the United States Senate for almost 47 years.

Almost all of these details are depicted in the film Chappaquiddick, which stars Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy and Kate Mara as Mary Jo Kopechne.  This historical drama doesn’t provide all the definitive answers to the mysteries of the subject matter, but there’s a noticeable sense of focus on being as factual as possible rather than embellish it with typical Hollywoodifications.

Clarke, playing the central character, particularly delivered a strong performance.  He excellently portrayed a man who has some part in him that wants to do the right thing but whose desperation for self-preservation, personal ambition, neediness for affirmation, and disconnect from reality due to being in a position of privilege and power ultimately prevail, that he becomes more concerned on saving his political career above anything else, and thus, he readily opts for unethical and deceitful actions.  Meanwhile, also outstanding is Ed Helms (famous for his comedic roles in The Hangover film series, the Vacation reboot, and the Captain Underpants animated film adaptation), in a surprising outstanding dramatic turn as Joe Gargan, Ted’s lawyer and cousin, who gradually becomes disillusioned with Ted.

My favorite scenes in this movie are when Ted and the cronies of the Kennedy family – one of which is played gloriously by the ever-imposing Clancy Brown – are conferencing and scheming on what steps to take in order to save Ted from serious legal ramifications as well as social and political ruin.  These scenes are both enthralling and disgusting to watch.

Enthralling because it’s a believable look on how the elites have such extensive resources and influence to control the narrative and maneuver the law to their favor.  In a twisted way, there’s always something fascinating about such depictions.

It’s also amusing to see how the elites are so far up living in their own bubble that they can be disconnected from reality in ridiculous ways.  For example, in one scene I found hilarious, Ted reveals that his driving license is probably expired, prompting a response of exasperation from the Kennedy cronies.  On the other hand, Ted is genuinely baffled why that is tantamount to negligence.  In another scene that I couldn’t help but laugh at, without really consulting a physician, they decide to attribute any inconsistencies to Ted’s initial statement to a make-believe concussion, for which he’s supposed to have been given sedatives.  However, it turns out that giving sedatives to someone with a concussion should prove lethal.

At the same time, it’s disgusting since it simply reflects what’s really happening in real life.  Society and the system have always been rigged in a way which treats rich, “important” people differently, especially when it comes to addressing transgressions.  In a similar situation that Ted had, an ordinary citizen could have been charged with manslaughter, sentenced to a decade in prison, and be stigmatized for the rest of his life.  But for someone like Ted Kennedy, he would get nothing more than a slap on the wrist, and would enjoy being in a position of power and respect for the rest of his life.

In the end, Chappaquiddick is the kind of movie that won’t turn many heads.  However, for those who are interested in a riveting dramatization of how a prominent political figure got out mostly unscathed from a serious scandal, it’s a must-see.