Chappaquiddick (2018)
C – 106m
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: The Last Son
Screenplay By: Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan
Exec. Prod.: Byron Allen and Taylor Allen
Dir.: John Curran
Starring: Jason Clarke, Ed Helms, Jim Gaffigan, Kate Mara, Bruce Dern, John Fiore and Clancy Brown.
A depiction of Ted Kennedy’s involvement in the fatal 1969 car accident that claims the life of young campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne. Certainly a fair portrayal of the events around the accident. The film boasts of fine performances, moderate CGI and great cinematography (sans one shot where the camera pans across a room from a bookshelf to someone at a desk on a phone). It may not be for all tastes and certainly political bias can taint how one receives this film if one is strongly political. But there is enough going for this film mechanics wise that will hold this as a solid if not just under stellar film. Don’t miss it!
Note: This may be snide but, how much of a Bostonian would this film reviewer be if this reviewer didn’t go to see Chappaquiddick (2018)?!
Trivia: Jason Clarke, who plays Ted Kennedy here, was born July 17, 1969, one day before the Chappaquiddick incident on July 18, 1969. Though not mentioned in the movie, there were three other men at the cottage with Ted Kennedy, Joseph Gargan, and Paul F. Markham. They were: Charles Tretter, Raymond La Rosa, and John Crimmins. Part of the film was filmed in Rockport, Massachusetts. When Ted Kennedy is being chastised by his lawyers for his actions, they refer to his actions as: “John Wayne stuff.” Bruce Dern, who plays Joseph Kennedy, Sr. here, was in The Cowboys (1972) with John Wayne. In that film he killed John Wayne’s character, one of John “Duke” Wayne’s few on screen deaths. Chappaquiddick is the name of the island in Massachusetts where the accident occurred that killed Mary Jo Kopechne.
Rated: [PG–13] – Thematic Material, Disturbing Images, Some Strong Language, & Historical Smoking
Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy