Chappaquiddick (2017)

Depicting Ted Kennedy's involvement in the fatal 1969 car accident that claims the life of a young campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne.

Director:

John Curran

Writers:

Taylor Allen, Andrew Logan

Stars:

Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, Ed Helms

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Clarke	...	Ted Kennedy
Kate Mara	...	Mary Jo Kopechne
Ed Helms	...	Joseph Gargan
Bruce Dern	...	Joseph Kennedy
Jim Gaffigan	...	Paul Markham
Olivia Thirlby	...	Rachel
Clancy Brown	...	Robert McNamara
Taylor Nichols	...	Ted Sorensen
John Fiore	...	Chief Arena
Gillian Mariner Gordon	...	Cricket (as Gillian Gordon)
Katie Henoch	...	Suzy (as Kate Henoch)
Lexie Roth	...	Nance
Angela Hope Smith	...	Maryellen
Vince Tycer	...	David Burke
Victor Warren	...	Stephen Smith

Storyline

The scandal and mysterious events surrounding the tragic drowning of a young woman, as Ted Kennedy drove his car off the infamous bridge, are revealed in the new movie starring Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy and Kate Mara as Mary Jo Kopechne. Not only did this event take the life of an aspiring political strategist and Kennedy insider, but it ultimately changed the course of presidential history forever. Through true accounts, documented in the inquest from the investigation in 1969, director John Curran and writers Andrew Logan and Taylor Allen, intimately expose the broad reach of political power, the influence of America's most celebrated family; and the vulnerability of Ted Kennedy, the youngest son, in the shadow of his family legacy.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | car | accident | police office | island | 

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Taglines:

The scandal that defined the life of Ted Kennedy.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, disturbing images, some strong language, and historical smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Sweden

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 April 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chappaquiddick

Filming Locations:

Ipswich, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,765,854, 8 April 2018, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,395,520, 1 August 2018

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,986,043, 29 July 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apex Entertainment, Chimney, DMG Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jason Clarke was born on July 17th, 1969, one day before the Chappaquiddick incident.

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Goofs

The movie depicts the moon being full on the night of Kennedy's crash; in reality, the moon was full July 29, which meant that it would have been a waxing crescent on the night July 18.

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Quotes

Ted Kennedy: Joey you have flaws. We all do, you said so yourself. Moses had a temper. Peter betrayed Jesus. I have Chappaquiddick.
Joseph Gargan: Yeah. Moses had a temper. But he never left a girl at the bottom of the Red Sea.

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Connections

References The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

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Soundtracks

Ave Maria
Written by Franz Schubert
Arranged by Thomas Whitestone
Performed by Theresa Curran & Thomas Whitestone
Courtesy of Cutting Edge Music (Holdings) Ltd.

User Reviews

The truth is out there, not here

This film disappoints. I remember the event quite well and most of the true happenings were covered up and this movie does nothing to add to the truth.

We will never know the complete truth, but money talks and happened in the cover up, but this was not even included in this film. It appears that even 50 odd years later, it is still impossible to get the whole truth, so the Kennedy power still reigns.

A sad day. I feel this movie should not have been released as the speculation will continue, yet a person lost her life and the culprit got away with it.