The official trailer for the upcoming drama Chappaquiddick, based on the untold true story of Ted Kennedy’s car accident on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, in 1969, and how this tragedy affected his life, has been released.
Written by Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan and directed by John Curran, the film show how U.S. Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy’s life and political career became derailed after the car accident caused by his negligence and resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, a 28-year-old campaign strategist that was his passenger.
The cast ensemble includes Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy, Kate Mara as Mary Jo Kopechne, Bruce Dern, Taylor Nichols, Jim Gaffigan, Ed Helms, Andria Blackman, Tamara Hickey, Alison Wachtler, and others.
“Tragedy has a way of defining people, cripple some people.” – Clarke’s character recalls as his father’s words at the beginning of the trailer, which also shows him tormented by nightmares after the car accident. “Oh, my God, what have I done?” – he’s seen asking himself. Following shots reveal what investigators told him with regards to the existence of a victim, namely “A dead body holds a lot of secrets. Those can be the difference between guilt and innocence.” He is also reminded that “There’s not a lot of senators that are charged with manslaughter that go on to become president.
At the end of the trailer, Ed Helms’ character, Ted’s cousing Joe Gargan, replies to Kennedy, during a discussion, that Moses had a temper, but he never left a girl at the bottom of the Red Sea”.
Chappaquiddick was screened in the Gala Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, on September 10, and is scheduled to be released on April 6, 2018.
