Over and over and over again it happens. This: one or another prominent member of the male species, letting his johnson do the thinking for him, stumbles into a quagmire that all but upends his lifelong ambitions.
The only difference here being that the woman involved ended up losing her life. And, as a result of that, well, who is really to say what the existential ramification of this particular tragedy were? But at the very least [politically] they were enormous.
Chappaquiddick probably cost Edward M. Kennedy the White House. And we will never know what impact that had on the trajectory of world events themselves. Still, it was Mary Jo Kopechne who had lost her life. 28 years old and gone forever. Another one of history’s “footnotes”.
But the arc of this story focused more on the extent to which her death might have been avoided. Some insist that not only had Kennedy let his own pecker do the thinking for him here, but it was argued in turn by many that he had abandoned the scene of the accident itself.
Did he leave her there to die?
Is there any way in which to determine this for sure? What was in fact the relationship between Kennedy and Kopechne? What did in fact happen that night? So, even here we need the equivalent of God to know for sure. Folks put on their political caps and the conflicting narratives soon overwhelm us. But to this day there is still no definitive account of how the accident unfolded and who did what when and why in the aftermath of it. There are only the facts that cannot be disputed and then the spin each one of us put on them.
IMDb
[b]How Ted Kennedy got out of the car has never been explained. Neither he nor all the investigators (and investigations) offered an explanation.
The car, a late model Oldsmobile with a curb height overall of about 4 feet, was lying on its crushed-in top and the wheels were out of water at low tide. High tide at Edgartown that night came at 3:54 A.M., and its rise and fall is only 2 feet. The accident, if it occurred around 11:30 P.M., came at about two hours after low tide, and therefore there could not have been much more than 4 feet of water, and perhaps less, at the point where the car lay. The bottom is presumably sandy, since the entire island is made of sand. Senator Kennedy gave credit to Messrs. Markham and Gargan for having “dived” at “risk to their lives” in an attempt to reach Miss Kopechne. It would be more appropriate to refer to wading and stooping. [/b]
trivia at IMDb: imdb.com/title/tt5270948/tr … tt_trv_trv
at wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chappaquiddick_(film
trailer: youtu.be/qG-c8DtOm9g
Chappaquiddick [2017]
Directed by John Curran
[b]Various news accounts: Lieutenant Joe Kennedy, Jr., the eldest son of former ambassador died instantly, after the plane he was piloting exploded during a mission over the North Sea…President Kennedy was shot as he drove from Dallas airport to downtown Dallas, an ambulance, and the car rushed to…Bobby Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles…Senator Edward Kennedy, the only one of the four brothers left alive. Teddy Kennedy would most certainly be the candidate to beat in the next presidential election. But will he run? That’s the question. Will Ted Kennedy run?
…
Joe [Gargan]: I’m still getting the cottage organized for the party.
Ted: Joey, there is no party without the Boiler Room Girls.
Joe: All right, I’ll see what I can do…
Ted: Listen, listen, listen. Ol’ Joey will fix it, right?
Joe: You know, when your dad said that, it was a compliment.
Ted: When my dad said that, he said I could always count on you. Now, can I count on you? Joe: Yeah. Sure. Ol’ Joey will fix it.
…
Rachel: Did he ask? Did he hint in any way?
Mary Jo: Even if he did, do you really think I would tell you?
Rachel: I’ve kept bigger secrets. Hmm. I’ll take that as a yes. You’re brilliant, Mary Jo, and you’re available. There is no reason why he wouldn’t want you.
…
Rachel: Last time we talked, you said you’d never go back.
Mary Jo: To Washington?
Rachel: To politics.
Mary Jo: With Bobby it was different. It didn’t feel like politics. It felt like public service. And after he was gone, I…[/b]
Cue Ted.
[b]Ted: Did you consider my offer?
Mary Jo: It’ll never be the same.
Ted: You can’t hide in Jersey City forever. Come back to Washington, work on my staff.
…
Ted: My dad once said to me…“Teddy, you can lead a serious life or you can lead a nonserious life. And I’ll still love you whichever choice you make. But if you choose to lead a non-serious life, | just won’t have much time for you.”
Mary Jo: I can’t believe he would say something like that.
Ted: No, it’s okay. I was just a kid.
…
Ted: What were you gonna say before? Before you were interrupted, about Bobby?
Mary Jo: Um… No, never mind.
Ted: No, go on. You were gonna ask, after Bobby was killed, why didn’t I run in his place? What would you have done? If you were me and he was your brother, what would you have done?
Mary Jo: I’d quit, leave Washington, never look back. Which is exactly what I did. But I’m not you. He wasn’t my brother.
Ted: Yeah, well, I had three generations of advisors up my ass, trying to convince me to run. None of them listened to me. I mean, everyone tried to convince me otherwise. Everyone except…Except Joey. Said the country needed me. They just needed my name. I wasn’t ready.
Mary Jo: Could you ever be?
Ted: Sometimes the path you’re on isn’t always the path you choose.
Mary Jo: What’s stopping you from making that choice yourself?
…
Joe: What the hell happened to you?
Ted: You better get Paul too.
Joe: Come on, Teddy, what’s the big idea?
Ted: I’m not gonna be president.
…
Ted [aloud to himself on the bridge while Joe is underwater trying to get Mary Jo out of the car]: Oh, my God, what have I done? What have I done? She was already dead.
…
Joe: Teddy, listen to me. The only advice l have for you, and…and I say this to you not as your friend, not as your family, but as your lawyer…you gotta report this thing and you’ve gotta do it right now.
…
Joe: Teddy, promise me you’re gonna call your mother first. Don’t let her find out about another family tragedy in the news.
…
Joe: Ted! You’ll report it, right?
Ted: I’ll handle it.
…
Ted [on the phone]: Dad, I’m sorry to be calling so late, I…I’ve gotten myself into the deepest kind of trouble. There was an accident and, well, one of Bobby’s secretaries is dead. And l was driving. No one else was involved. And I’m okay. I may have had too much to drink. l just don’t know. I don’t know. I need your help, Dad. Need it. Dad? Dad?
Joe: Al…alibi.
…
Ted Sorenson [on phone]: Well, who was driving?
Ted: I’d say she was.
Ted S.: Then I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
Ted: And that story plays?
Ted S.: That’s what happened, isn’t it?
…
Paul [watching the police at the bridge]: He didn’t report it.
Joe: That son of a bitch.
…
Joe: You were supposed to report the accident. What the hell happened last night?
Ted: I didn’t report it.
Joe: Oh, my…Shit! What could you possibly be thinking? How could you let this much time go by?
Ted: Well, did you see the police arrive at the cottage last night?
Joe: No.
Ted: No. No? Well, don’t you think, if I had reported it, the police would have been there within the hour?
Joe: I guess so.
Ted: I thought this matter had been handled. I thought I could count on you. The moment the police didn’t arrive at the cottage, you should have known. You should have known it was your responsibility to report it to the authorities.
Joe: What the hell are you talking about?
Ted: No, you bungled this, Joey. You bungled it. Now I gotta deal with it myself.
…
Joe: We’re all three implicated in this now. You can’t just go and pull this John Wayne shit! They’re treating this like a crime scene. There’s a dead girl out there, for Christ’s sakes.
Paul: Attorney-client privilege doesn’t extend to aiding and abetting.
Joe: I’m not gonna sugarcoat this. This situation’s a lot worse than it was. You put us in a very difficult position, Senator. Look, none of us has to lose our jobs over this. You’re gonna protect Paul and me, and yourself. Okay? You just have to do what you know is right.
Ted: Okay. I’ll report it. But I’m going to have to say Mary Jo was driving.
Joe: Christ.
Ted: Joey, I love you, okay? You know that. But we both know what’s at stake here.
…
Chief: Are you saying that there’s a possibility that maybe she didn’t drown?
Diver: Hey, when l was down there, she was holding herself up like she was trying to get her last breath of air. I could have had her out of that car in 25 minutes if I got the call, but no one called.
…
Ted [on phone]: David. We have a situation here on Chappaquiddick.
David: What kind of situation?
Ted: There’s a firestorm headed your way and you need to be ready for it.
David: Okay, but I’ll be more ready when I know what it’s about.
Ted: Listen, the situation is, my car was involved in an accident. I am going to be saying that I wasn’t the one driving.
David: Well, were you driving? Senator.
[Ted says nothing]
David: Were you driving? Senator.
[Ted still says nothing]
David: Were you driving? Senator. Were you driving? Senator? Senator, are you okay? Was anyone hurt? Have the police been notified?
[Ted sees the ambulance drive by with Mary Jo’s dead body]
David: Ted, it would help a lot if you gave me some details. Ted? Ted, are you there?
Ted: Uh, that’s all you need to know for now.
…
Joe [to the “Boiler Room girls”]: Senator Kennedy’s car went off the bridge at Poucha Pond last night. He’s okay, but we cannot find Mary Jo.
Rachel: Are the police looking for her?
Joe: I want you to know that every effort possible was made to save her.
Rachel: Oh, my God, she’s dead.
…
Ted [on the phone]: Hello, Mrs. Kopechne? This is Senator Ted Kennedy, Mrs. Kopechne. Could I please speak to your husband?
Mrs. Kopechne: Oh, Senator. Joseph’s not here at the moment. Can I take a message for him? Ted: Mrs. Kopechne, Mary Jo was involved in an accident.
Mrs. Kopechne: Was it in a car?
Ted: It was an automobile accident. She was…She was returning to take a ferry back to the mainland when the accident occurred.
Mrs. Kopechne: Was my daughter killed?
Ted: Yes…Mary Jo was an exceptional human being. She served my brother and my family with grace, dignity…
[call disconnects]
…
Ted [on the phone]: Dad, I’m at the police station. I’m telling you this because I wanted to let you know that I am going to explain to them what happened. And I’m going to say that l was the one driving. I will protect myself, but I have to do what’s right. I have to tell the truth.
Joe [gruffly]: Alibi.
Ted: I’m not going to be the one defined by my flaws. Joe Jr. was the favorite one. Jack was the charming one. Bobby was the brilliant one. And what did that leave me, Dad? The fat one? The stupid one? I’ll tell you what. The one who got in the most trouble. Well, I can be charming. I can be brilliant. I can… I am the only son you got left. I’m the one making this decision, Dad. I’m the one…
Ann: Ted, he’s writing something. He says, "You’re the head of the family now. Start acting like it. "
Ted [abruptly]: Goodbye Dad.
[he hangs up]
…
Ted [on the phone]: Dun, I need you on the next plane to Edgartown.
Dun: Yeah, I’ve been expecting your call. David filled me in.
Ted: Good. Listen, we’ve made mistakes here. I want you to understand that. But I want to make sure, going forward, we handle everything with the utmost integrity.
Dun: I understand.
Ted: We need to make sure the poor girl’s body gets to her family right away. Can you…Can you do that for me?
Dun: Uh, okay, but there may be a delay if they want to perform an autopsy.
Ted: Why do you think I want it out of here? Can you handle this or not?
Dun: Of course, Senator, but what if they demand…[/b]
So much for integrity.
[b]Ted: I have a statement I’d like to read, if that’s okay.
Chief: Okay.
Ted: “On July 18, 1969, at approximately 11:15 pm. in Chappaquiddick, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, l was driving my car on Main Street on the way to get the ferry back to Edgartown. l was unfamiliar with the road and turned right onto Dike Road instead of bearing a hard left onto Main Street. After proceeding for approximately one half mile I discovered a hill and came upon a narrow bridge…then went off the edge of the bridge. There was one passenger in the car with me, Miss Mary Jo Kopechne. She was a former secretary of my brother Robert F. Kennedy. The car turned over and landed on the roof, resting on the bottom. I attempted to open the door and the window of the car, and have no recollection of how I got out. I came to the surface and then repeatedly dove down to see if the passenger was still in the car. I was unsuccessful in the attempt. I was exhausted and in a state of shock. I recall walking back to where my friends were eating. I then asked someone to bring me back to Edgartown. I remember walking around for a period of time and then going to my hotel room. When I fully realized what had happened this morning, I immediately contacted the police.”
…
Ted: I’m glad to see you, Dad. You look good. I want to tell you again how sincerely sorry I am that I ever let a thing like this happen. And reassure you that I have the situation, as terrible as it is, under my complete control. I know…I’m sorry I got us into this. But if you can trust me, Dad, I have faith I can get us out.
[His father hands Ann a note]
Ann: Your father would like to tell you… “You’ve lost my confidence. Do as I say and never lose it again. Otherwise, it will be a nearly impossible task to restore it.”
…
Ted [to the team that Joe has assembled]: Gentlemen, I appreciate you all making this short trip on my behalf. But I hope you’ll understand I’m going to handle this with my own team, since it’s my political future here at stake.
Bob [McNamara]: You won’t have a political future if you’re in jail, Ted. You’re fighting a battle on two fronts and you don’t even know it.
Ted: I think you need to cool down here, Bob. Okay? I understand my problem with the press and with the people of Massachusetts.
Bob: You’re also in serious legal trouble, son. Teddy.
Ted S.: Teddy, if they find that your negligence contributed to this girl’s death, that’s involuntary manslaughter.
Bob: If there’s even a whisper that you’re not as clean as Mother Teresa, you will be charged. And there’s not a lot of senators that are charged with manslaughter that go on to become president.
…
Bob: “Problems,” Ted. Problems, plural. They are threefold. One, the information we know that we need to make sure no one else knows. Two, the information we don’t know that we need to make sure stays unknown. Three, the information that you have already admitted to that we need to make people forget. Now, to the first point. A dead body holds a lot of secrets. Those secrets can be the difference between guilt and innocence, so we need to be in control of them. The only way to do that is to be in control of that dead girl’s body.
Ted: Good. Because my staffer, Dun Gifford, is already at the funeral home right now. And that poor girl’s body isn’t going anywhere except home to New Jersey without us knowing about it.
Bob: Senator, with all due respect, having a gofer sitting on his hands in the lobby isn’t getting us anywhere. Now, there are explicit procedures that must be followed for moving a body across state lines. Do you have any idea, has the death certificate even been signed yet? [/b]
Cue the strings attached to those in power. Sometimes they’re conservative, sometimes liberal. Now it’s all about damage control, about “owning” the story.
[b]Ted S.: There’s nothing left to do but run out the clock, gentlemen. Come 5:00 pm, we’ll be back out in front of the problem.
Ted: Actually, New York Times already has a story.
Ted S.: What? Excuse me?
Ted: On my way to the station, I bumped into a reporter. Seemed to know that l was involved in an accident.
Ted S.: Who was it, Ted? What was his name?
Ted: James Reston.
…
Ted [on phone]: Now, remember, Dick, this is an exclusive. You don’t need to overdo it. We’re just trying to make sure this doesn’t spin out of control into something like manslaughter…or an affair, God forbid.
Dick: You don’t need to say another word.
Ted: And throw in something about me being on sedatives. Make it sound dramatic.
…
Ted: Okay, look, we’re not sunk yet. That statement’s pretty airtight.
Bob: Oh, airtight, huh? You contradict yourself in the first two sentences. Main road’s paved, Teddy. Dike Road’s not. Doesn’t take an expert cartographer to tell the difference. And what about this deputy that saw your car driving away from the ferry at a quarter to 1:00 in the morning?
Ted: Yeah, well, that’s just his word against mine.
Bob: We gotta go through his statement line by line.
…
Ted: Guys, guys, I think we’re overreacting here. All right? Dick’s running the concussion story. That’s going to explain any inconsistencies.
Woman: Dick Drayne on line three.
Ted: This should be interesting. Dick, you’re on with the boys. So, did the sedative stuff play?
Dick [on the phone]: Did any of you guys actually consult a physician?
Ted: Yeah, of course.
Dick: Well, according to Reston, you don 't give sedatives to a patient who’s had a concussion. It could kill them.
Bob: Good Lord. Bay of Pigs was a better run operation.
…
Ted [on the way to Mary Jo’s funeral]: Thanks for doing this, Joany.
Joan: Go fuck yourself, Teddy.
…
Ted: Tragedy has a way of defining people. On one hand, you have someone like Jackie who goes and practically becomes ambassador for the family. Keeping the legacy alive. On the other hand, a tragedy like this cripples some people…till they curl up into a ball. Joany’s more the latter.
Rachel: I think there’s a third kind of person. The kind of person who defines their own legacy.
Ted: I think my chance to define my legacy died with Mary Jo.
…
Rachel: Senator, look at Mr. and Mrs. Kopechne. They don’t blame you. Why should America?
…
Ted S.: Those are the Boston papers. You want to hear from the New York Times?
Ted: No, I got it. The neck brace was a mistake. I see that now.
…
Ted [to “the team” about a national televised statement]: We tell the truth. Or at least our version of it.
…
Ted: We need to remind the people that this family perseveres, that we don’t back down from a fight, that we don’t get backed into a corner. We have a true compass and we follow it. Now I followed mine the best I could that night. And me and Paul and Joe, we did everything we could to save that poor girl.
Bob: You got a winner there, son.
Ted S.: Amen to that, Bob. Son of a bitch, that’s a hell of a winner. We get Sorensen to dress this speech up, you might make it through this thing unscathed. If we do this right, you might be more electable. That’s good.
Joe [tossing a newspaper down on the table]: A girl dies, and yet somehow Ted is the martyr? Think about it. Do we really want to prop him up as an injured hero here?
Ted S.: This strategy’s the only thing we’ve come up with that has a chance of saving Ted. We need to all get behind it.
Joe: I’m telling you, these theatrics are not gonna hold up in a court of law!
Bob: He’s right. We need to make sure this case is closed before Ted talks to the press.
Paul: The hearing’s not till Monday.
Ted S.: Then we move it up immediately or we will not survive the weekend. [/b]
The fix is in.
[b]Ann: Your father wanted to speak with you.
Ted [leaning in toward him]: What is it, Dad?
[Joe slaps him across the face]
Ted: Ann, I need you to leave us, please. It’s very rare these days I’m alone with my father and the things I need to say to him, I need to say to him in private.
Ann [turning to leave the room]: Of course, Teddy.
…
Ted: Dad, did you know I never wanted to be president? Does it even matter to you? I wanted to make you proud. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I spent my whole life chasing your dreams for you, just like Joe and just like Jack and just like Bobby, and look what happened to them. They were great men but they weren’t great because of who you were. hey were great because of who they were. Dad…I want to be a great man. l just don’t know who I am.
Joe [gripping Ted roughly at the back of the neck]: You…will never…be great.
…
Ted [to Joe about to leave]: Joey, no. I need you…
Joe: If it’s about the statement, I want nothing to do with it.
Ted: Just the opposite. I need you to write me a resignation.
Joe [relieved]: I’ll take care of it.
Ted: Thank you. For the last time.
Joe: I’m proud of you.
Ted: Well, don’t tell anyone else how proud you are. And let’s just keep this between the two of us.
…
David Brinkley [on a newscast]: Senator Edward Kennedy, the only one of the four brothers left alive, went into court today and pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident where a young woman drowned. He got a sentence of two months in jail, the sentence suspended, and a year’s probation. The judge gave him the minimum jail sentence and suspended that, because, he said, Kennedy already had been and would be punished more than anything the court could do to him.
…
Brinkley: Kennedy will make a statement on television tonight at 7:30 Eastern Time. It will, of course, be seen live. It will be a statement only. No reporters will be allowed in, by his decision, and so no questions will be asked. We’ve heard speculation on the possibility he might resign from the Senate. But it is only speculation, and we don’t know what he will say.
…
David: Okay, so for the first half of the speech, we felt it would seem more stately for you to be reading. Then halfway through, we have you make a direct appeal to the voters. And we think, in order to get them to really want to write in, mail letters and show their support for you and the family, you should look straight into camera, set the papers down, and just talk from the heart.
Ted: David, I’m not off-script on this.
David: No, no, we’ll have cue cards. They’re being done right now.
…
Ted: I’ve been thinking. Joey, we both have flaws, do we not?
Joe: Yeah, of course we do. We all do.
Ted: Right. Right. I thought that myself.
Joe: What’s right is here in front of you.
Ted: I don’t know what’s right anymore.
Joe: Ted, I didn’t say this before, but I agree with you that Kennedys do have a true compass. And it’s because you’re following yours that we’re here right now. You told the police that you were driving. You told the truth. You had me write this resignation.
Ted: Sorensen’s speech…
Joe: Sorensen’s speech is bullshit. Every word of it. He made it up. All the thoughts and emotions. I was there. I’ve been there with you from the very beginning.
Ted: This may give me a chance at a new beginning.
Joe: This isn’t about opportunity. It’s about integrity.
Ted: Joey, you have flaws. We all do. You said so yourself. Moses had a temper. Peter betrayed Jesus. I have Chappaquiddick.
Joe: Yeah, Moses had a temper, but he never left a girl at the bottom of the Red Sea. [/b]
Cue the shamelessly scripted address to the nation. Did Joe Gargan really hold up the cue cards for Kennedy?
Ted [ending his statement to the nation]: These events, the publicity, innuendo and whispers which have surrounded them, and my admission of guilt this morning, raises the question in my mind of whether my standing among the people of my state has been so impaired that I should resign my seat in the United States Senate. The stories of past courage cannot supply courage itself. For this, each man must look into his own soul. And so I ask you tonight, the people of Massachusetts, to think this through with me. In facing this decision, I seek your advice and opinion. In making it, I seek your prayers. For this is a decision that I will finally have to make on my own. I pray that I can have the courage to make the right decision. Whatever is decided, whatever the future holds for me, I hope that I shall be able to put this most recent tragedy behind me. Thank you and good night.