Following a Tragedy, a Kennedy Tries to Uphold His Image

Jason Clarke and Kate Mara in "Chappaquiddick"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

As a political family, the Kennedys and their prominence in our nation’s history offer much to discuss.  While they’ve experienced successes, they’re a family whose also been plagued by tragedy, which has been the focus of several notable films.  We have Oliver Stone’s “JFK,” which deals with conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; Emilio Estevez’s “Bobby,” which was a fictionalized account of the hours leading up to the assassination of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy; and, recently, Pablo Larraín’s “Jackie,” which followed Jacqueline Kennedy throughout the days between JFK’s assassination and funeral.

John Curran’s the next filmmaker to examine this historical family with “Chappaquiddick,” an in-depth look into another chapter of the Kennedys.  

Ted Kennedy (Jason Clarke) is a successful U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.  In 1969, when Ted leaves a party one night on Chappaquiddick Island with campaign specialist Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara), he loses control of his car and drives off of a bridge and into a pond.  Mary Jo’s killed, and Ted leaves the scene.  As the investigation surrounding the mysterious event begins, Ted gathers his closest friends and colleagues to help maintain his innocence.

Jason Clarke loses himself in the role and provides a captivating performance as the morally conflicted senator.  We see the struggle play out in him as he’s torn between telling the truth and keeping a favorable image, and Clarke does superb work in displaying this internal fight and the stress from the burden of expectation that the public and his family have on him.

Ed Helms, who plays Ted’s cousin, Joe Gargan, ventures into new territory for his first dramatic performance.  Despite Helms being in many comedic films and television shows, he’s able to shed all of that and carries himself well among the rest of the cast, acting as Ted’s voice of reason and hoping that he can convince him to do what’s right.

Given the significance of the story, the film might have benefitted from being a little longer, but the screenplay by Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan still offers enough details about what happened behind the scenes of the tragedy’s aftermath.  One of the best scenes to do so is a tense sequence where Ted meets with a team of lawyers to figure out how his name is going to be kept clean.  We’re also given a few memorable scenes between Ted and his cousin, in which they share their views on what the best course of action would be in handling the situation.

Besides focusing on Ted trying to keep a positive image with the public, the film also offers a look at how he’s determined to carve his own path in life and reach greatness.  This connects to some mentions about him living in the shadow of his brothers, the mentions of which are made more effective because of how, coincidentally, the moon landing and the Chappaquiddick incident happened within days of each other.  Here, you have the culmination of JFK’s dream of getting a man on the moon, and a deadly accident involving his youngest sibling.  Both brothers make it to the headlines, but for different reasons.  Ted’s desire for greatness is also touched upon in a memorable scene between him and his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (Bruce Dern).

Despite the film’s aforementioned short length, Curran’s still able to bring enough tension and drama to the film in order to help us feel the gravity of the situation.  “Chappaquiddick” is an analyzation of the incident as much as it’s a character study of Ted, and Curran keeps us invested throughout as he examines another layer of the Kennedys’ family history.

Final grade: A-