Political scandals are as old as government itself, but few revolve around an event as senselessly tragic as the one dramatized in Chappaquiddick.
In 1969, Ted Kennedy left a party with Mary Jo Kopechne and drove his car off a bridge, killing his passenger. The senator survived but didn’t report the accident to police for hours, inciting public outrage and questions about his competency as a U.S. senator. It was a massive news story on its own, but since it’s also wrapped up in the rumors and legends surrounding the Kennedy family, time has only made the incident more intriguing.
Jason Clarke takes on the role of the youngest Kennedy boy, who at the time had already seen his brothers John and Robert die from assassin’s bullets. All roads were leading to Ted making a presidential bid himself, except the one that took him to a small bridge and a big tragedy.
It’s death, politics, wealth, and influence all rolled up in one scandal, and remarkably, it’s one of the least dramatized events in the family’s history. Chappaquiddick is, on the one hand, taking a new route into the family’s sordid past, but it’s still the Kennedys, so we kind of know where it’s headed.
Chappaquiddick is directed by John Curran and stars Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, and Ed Helms. It will be released in the U.S. on April 6th, 2018. For international release dates, click here.
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