'Chappaquiddick' and the power of myth

Chicago Tribune ^ | 4/11/2018 | John Kass

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Chappaquiddick” is an impressive, fascinating and clinical film about a young Ted Kennedy, the power of myth and the corrosive cynicism of mythmakers.

And so the other day, in a Chicago movie theater, as the closing credits were rolling, people left their seats without saying, “I really liked it” or “I really hated it.”

The theater was as silent as that quiet moment just after a sigh.

But one man enjoyed “Chappaquiddick” so much that he gave it a slow long clap that went on and on. A few moviegoers — obviously aging baby boomers raised on Camelot — stared at him in irritation, their hands on hips, heads tilted, like peeved, graying birds.

But he just kept on slow clapping because it was the right thing to do.

“Chappaquiddick” is set some 50 years ago, on a warm July night in 1969, when Edward “Ted” Kennedy (Jason Clarke) drives off a bridge and into the water, then leaves Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara) alone in the car to die.

That it has taken so long to tell this story on film is an indictment of the cynical politics of Hollywood. But in this film, there is at least one moral character: Kennedy’s cousin, Joe Gargan (Ed Helms).

After Kennedy abandoned Kopechne in the water, he walks all the way back to his rented house. Gargan sees him there, dripping wet and staring out into space.

“Come on, Teddy,” says Gargan. “What’s the big idea?”

“I’m not going to be president,” Kennedy says.

It is an astonishingly honest line, full of self-pity, full of real pain, full of the heavy weight of family obligation and the memory of his late brothers Joe, John and Robert.

It was just one line in a superb performance by Clarke, and oddly,

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1994, Howie’s interview with the diver

I had the great good fortune to attend that show which Howie broadcast live from the party cottage on Chappy on the 25th anniversity

Pure Genius and a great clambake to boot!

I also had the opportunity to see this film on Martha's Vineyard a couple of weeks ago.

Pure silence after the film from the crowd that went 2 to 1 against Trump