Posted on 04/07/2018 7:15:58 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
In a New York Times op-ed published Friday, a liberal journalist and film critic complained the new film Chappaquiddick was a "character assassination" of its central character, Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy.
"How ‘Chappaquiddick’ Distorts a Tragedy" wrote Neal Gabler, who is working on a biography of Kennedy.
Gabler complained the film, released in theaters Friday, has been "heavily promoted by conservative media outlets, and reviewers across the political spectrum have praised what they deem its damning but factual approach. Damning it is; factual it is not."
There actually was no "cover-up" of Kennedy's car accident that led to the death of an aide, he claims, adding that "no one but the most lunatic conspiracy theorists see this as anything but a tragic accident in which nothing much was covered up."
Chappaquiddick tells the story of a car accident that occurred on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts in 1969. The accident was caused by Kennedy's negligence and resulted in the death of his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle. The screenwriters have said their efforts in making the film aren’t partisan and they aimed to tell the facts of the story.
Gabler doesn't actually point to any factual errors in the film (save for the fact that Joe Kennedy, confined to a wheelchair by a stroke, likely wouldn't be able to grunt one-word dialogue like he does in the film). Instead, his criticism is limited more to the depiction of Kennedy as a character.
"In this version, the Kennedy character leaves Kopechne to die as she gasps for air, and then, with the aid of his brothers’ old advisers, cooks up a scheme to salvage his presidential ambitions. A more callow, cunning, cowardly and self-interested yet moronic figure you couldn’t find," he wrote.
Gabler claimed Kennedy actually felt "deep remorse and responsibility," and eventually grew to be "an indispensable legislator whose achievements included the 18-year-old vote, the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Children’s Health Insurance Program."
"It is very possible that over time, through the osmosis of social media, the despicable Kennedy of this movie will eradicate the honorable if flawed real one," Gabler wrote.
Kennedy killed Markup when he walked away and let her drown when he could have saved her. It’s called murder.
“I think Mary Jo told him she was pregnant with his baby and he murdered her.”
This is possible. We saw the movie today. Supposedly, he escaped from the car, but when people tried to get into the car to rescue Mary Jo (already dead), every door was locked and every window was shut. How did HE get out? Seems possible he suffocated her, locked the doors so she couldn’t escape, and pushed the car into the water.
Were automatic door locks available on cars in ‘69? If his had the old pull-up locks, then it seems she would’ve been able to pull one up, open the door, and escape. Of course, a corpse couldn’t have done that.
Left the scene of an accident, called a lot of people the next morning before he called the police.
Looking to get a cleaner.
Teddy is guilty.
Nice catch on the jokes, blows their theory out of the water.
So. Ted Kennedy assassinated America.
He deserves to be dug up and hung.
He didn’t need anyone’s help in that department. He did a fine job of that on his own.
Holy crap Batman!!! Teddy must have been even dirtier than we realize - else why would they defend his “honor” even after he’s a long time in the grave?
But were the previews of the coming attractions any good??
Absolutely dreadful. I wouldn't see any of them. We did see Chappaquiddick Sat. night and it was a good movie. They had moved it to a different screen. I commented to the ticket taker that we had lost (true story) our 2nd set of free passes from the fiasco of the previous night, and he gave us 2 more. We have 60 days to use them, but nothing is coming up in the near future that I would waste my time, or my soul, on.
It is very hard to open a door under water. The pressure of the water is too resistant. That's what under-water aerobics is all about! Even above water the doors of those vintage Oldsmobiles were heavy, heavy. I used to drive one, hauling 4 little kids to and from school, camp, scouts, etc. I couldn't believe the difference when I traded the Olds for a Ford station wagon. Easy peasy, by comparison.
“It is very hard to open a door under water.”
I found the text recap of an old “Mythbusters” episode.
“...the water pressure exerted against a sinking auto makes it extremely difficult to open a door and swim to safety.”
“...the water pressure differential between the inside and outside of the cabin was simply too great for Adam to pry open the driver’s side door.”
(How did Teddy get out?)
“But once the sinking sedan had filled to the brim, the pressure difference stabilized, allowing the door latch to release.”
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/open-the-door-of-a-sinking-car/
More mystery.
Did Teddy’s car ever “fill to the brim”? I thought there was that air pocket. That air bubble wasn’t replaced by water, but by CO2.
I don’t know. There was an air poocket — large at first. As water seeped in and filled the car (for about 4 hours?), the air pocket at the top became smaller and smaller. This is how the movie portrayed it. I expect that the “air” in the small pocket was C02.
Two medical examiner / coroner types at the accident scene made conflicting statements. One waid drowning. The other said suffocation or asphyxiation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.