Review of Ethel

Ethel (2012)
9/10
A great anchor for her family
26 September 2013
This is an amazing documentary, based on an interview with Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Robert Kennedy. It has extensive film footage of the public and private lives of the Kennedy family, particularly Robert and Ethel's; however, there are many views of the extended family. The interviewer is Ethel and Robert's youngest child, Rory. She does an excellent job of letting the viewer see her mother as a woman who has lived a full life with all its pain and joy. I never really knew Ethel Kennedy, although she was always a fixture in the Kennedy clan. After seeing this movie, I was moved by her honesty, her lack of pretense and her love for Bobby. She laughed at her hijinks, throwing a party for President Kennedy where the entire Cabinet ended up in the pool, or taking off on a scooter and crashing it during a trip to Rome. She talked about their two families and how they got along very well, despite being totally different. After Bobby's death, Ethel raised her children to be acutely aware of the poverty and hardship in the country and how important it is to work to overcome this divide. Her frankness was disarming. When asked about Bobby's climb of Mount Kennedy, named after his brother President Kennedy, she said, "He hated it". But he felt it was a challenge he had to take on. It was also clear that Ethel's faith is very deep and that she sees the tragic events as moments that all must encounter. In the meantime, we do what we can because we never know how long we have. Ethel Kennedy has had a long run and has done very well coping with her roller coaster life. After watching this documentary, I felt great admiration for her. I learned much about Ethel and her late husband, who I have always admired. I would gladly see this film again.
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