Film Review: CHAPPAQUIDDICK

I recently watched the 2018 movie about the tragedy of Chappaquiddick, entitled Chappaquiddick. Even though I knew the story, still it was a gripping, and even sympathetic, telling of the tale, and a tall one it was. Suspenseful and dramatic, it would have been so much better if only it hadn't been true.

By now most people know what happened, but the younger generation barely cares about the Kennedy family and thus the film was in and out of theaters in a flash. Still it's a great story and the film does it justice, even if Justice was never served: Senator Ted Kennedy went free and never got so much as a slap on the wrist from the voters of Massachusetts despite his causing the drowning death of 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara) back in 1969. The fact that he did not call the police for ten hours, thus making any rescue of the woman impossible, is presented in a "Poor Teddy, he was so freaked out" kind of way, which sticks in your craw if you think about it too much, so don't. Instead, think about these things:

1. Kennedy's hallmark Boston accent comes and goes like the wind. This is understandable since the actor portraying him is Australian (Jason Clarke), so you kind of have to forgive him. Still, it's distracting.

2. Bruce Dern plays the senator's father, Joe Kennedy, after he's been incapacitated by a few strokes. Dern, who is actually now 82, looks about 175 in the movie and deserves this year's Oscar for Best Dead Person Still Alive.

3. The car driven by Kennedy goes off a bridge, overturning and landing in about four feet of water. Kennedy escapes but his passenger Mary Jo does not. How come? There is no explanation offered. The car doors are closed tight, no windows are broken, and nobody even wonders aloud how Kennedy managed to get out, except for me who wondered aloud about it all during the entire movie, driving my husband batty. (Later he wondered too.)

4. Actor Ed Helms gives a great performance as Kennedy's cousin and closest confidante. Somehow Helms never seems to get the credit due him and seems stuck as second banana in every film. At the very least he deserves the Oscar for Best Second Banana.

5. We all have to watch Mary Jo die, trapped inside a car underwater. This is disturbing and I guess the director (John Curran) thought it was artsy, but take it from me you won't like it.

6. Kennedy matriarch Rose Kennedy is nowhere to be found, for reasons we never learn. This was a  glaring omission, especially since right off the bat somebody tells Kennedy to "call your mother so she won't have to hear about it on the news."

Besides all that, Chappaquiddick is definitely worth a big bowl of popcorn and an hour and 45 minutes of your time.