New film ‘Chappaquiddick’ tackles Kennedy history

A movie about the Kennedys and Chappaquiddick is sure to rattle some inside the Beltway, but a producer says the crew didn’t set out to make a “hatchet job” about former Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).

“Chappaquiddick,” which hits theaters April 6, dives into the real-life 1969 mystery surrounding the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, a 28-year-old woman who drowned after Kennedy said he accidentally drove his car off a bridge and into the waters surrounding Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts.

“Basically our film takes place within a week period” surrounding the incident, says producer Mark Ciardi. “Zero Dark Thirty’s” Jason Clarke stars as Kennedy, while “House of Cards” alum Kate Mara plays Kopechne.

{mosads}“It’s a political thriller. If you didn’t know this was a true story, it would have the same entertainment. Obviously a very difficult subject matter for the Kennedys” and the Kopechne family, says Ciardi.

“It’s as close as we came to the facts that we know,” Ciardi says, when asked how accurate the movie is.

Ciardi, 56, says the creators of “Chappaquiddick” used a 1969 inquest from the investigation into Kopechne’s drowning as the main source for the film’s script.

“Obviously we have to fill in the blanks. We’re not in those rooms and privy to the conversations they had,” says Ciardi. “And only Ted and Mary Jo know what happened that night. But I think we put a really compelling and even-handed narrative together.”

While Ciardi notes that Kennedy, who died in 2009 of brain cancer, is not portrayed in a flattering light, he says, “We just commented on what we knew to be true. I think it’s an emotional portrayal of the incident and the family and the pressures he had.”

But how did traditionally left-leaning Hollywood respond to a film that could cast a shadow on one of the country’s most famous political dynasties?

“We didn’t get any pushback. People thought the script was great, and it’s a piece of history,” says Ciardi.

“It’s not partisan in any way,” Ciardi says, but adds, “I do think that conservative audiences feel like Hollywood can’t make movies like this, and they should support this movie because this is pretty brave territory to go in.”

Although it’s a political thriller, Ciardi says politics serves as more of a backdrop in the drama. “I would say it’s as much about a family,” Ciardi says, “and how power works.”