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April 11, 2018 The Skanner Page 7 FILM REVIEW: ‘Chappaquiddick’ Revisits Kennedy Cover-Up of Tragic Car Accident by Kam Williams For The Skanner News O n July 18, 1969, Sen- ator Ted Kennedy (Jason Clarke) host- ed a reunion in a rented cottage on Chap- paquiddick, a tiny island just 150 yards off the coast of Martha’s Vine- yard. The gathering was in honor of the Boiler Room Girls, a half-dozen women who had worked on his late brother Bob- by’s presidential cam- paign the previous year. Around 11:15 pm, Ted- dy left the party in his ‘67 Oldsmobile with one of those young staffers, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara). An hour or so later, the car ambled down a dirt road and off a wooden bridge, before landing upside-down in Poucha Pond. Senator Kennedy es- caped and swam to shore, leaving Mary Jo in the submerged automobile, “ ‘Chappaquiddick’ In fact, the authorities only learned about the wreck the next morning when, at low tide, a cou- ple of fishermen spotted the wheels of a car bob- bing in the channel. Un- fortunately, by the time divers arrived, Mary Jo influence the inquest. Without performing an autopsy, the medical examiner concluded that Kopechne died of drowning. Consequent- ly, the powerful senator would not be indicted by the grand jury or charge Chappaquiddick is a damning docudrama be- latedly setting the record straight about what really transpired in Massachusetts on that fateful night back in 1969 wrongly assuming that she had drowned. Truth be told, she was still alive and able to breathe, thanks to a large air pocket. However, instead of trying to save Mary Jo, Ted turned his attention to damage control. After all, he was already plan- ning a run for the White House in ‘72. So, while she remained trapped and terrified for hours, he convened the Kenne- dy family brain trust, rather than report the accident to the police and fire department. had already run out of oxygen and died of as- phyxiation. Nevertheless, Teddy, with the help of his cro- nies, did his best to ex- culpate himself of any wrongdoing. At first, he claimed Mary Jo had been driving, so that no one could accuse him of driving under the influ- ence. Later, he admitted being behind the wheel but concocted a tall tale about having tried to res- cue his passenger several times before she expired. Lucky for Teddy, his legal team was able to SHOWTIMES THOROUGHBREDS (PG) Fri-Thu: 2:50, 9:35 PETER RABBIT (PG) Fri-Thur: 12:05, 4:55 THE POST (PG-13) Fri-Thur: 4:15 THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (PG) Fri-Thur: 12:15, 6:45 I, TONYA (R) Fri-Thur: 12:20, 7:15 with a crime of any na- ture. Directed by John Cur- ran (“The Painted Veil”), Chappaquiddick is a damning docudrama belatedly setting the re- cord straight about what really transpired in Mas- sachusetts on that fate- ful night back in 1969. Ironically, the elaborate cover-up didn’t enable Kennedy to become pres- ident, though it did at least keep him out of jail. Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a crash which in one brief, shameful moment brought down the cur- The Week of Friday, April 13 through Thursday, April 19 THE SHAPE OF WATER (R) Fri-Thur: 7:00 THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (R) Fri-Thur: 4:45, 9:00 LADY BIRD (R) Fri-Thur: 2:10 EVENT HORIZON (R) Fri-Thur: 2:35, 9:45 $4 adults, $3 senior citizens (65+), $3 for kids (12 & under) 7818 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215 503-252-1707 • AcademyTheaterPdx.com Babysitting: Children 2 to 8 years old. Fri: shows starting between 3:30 pm and 8 pm. Sat - Sun: shows starting between 1 pm and 8 pm. $9.50 per child for the length of the movie. Call to reserve a spot, no drop ins. tain on a dynasty known as Camelot. Excellent HHHH Rated PG-13 for smok- ing, profanity, mature themes and disturbing images Running time: 101 min- utes Production Studio: Apex Entertainment / DMG Entertainment Distributor: Entertain- ment Studios Motion Pictures To see a trailer visit: TheSkanner.com. View movie trailers at TheSkanner.com Arts & Entertainment ‘Beirut’ cont’d from pg 6 lished at the outset of Bei- rut, an edge-of-the-seat, political thriller cleverly crafted by Oscar-nom- inee Tony Gilroy (for Michael Clayton). The picture was directed by Brad Anderson and fea- tures a top flight cast that includes Jon Hamm, Ro- samund Pike, Dean Nor- ris and Shea Whigham. The plot thickens upon Mason’s landing in Leba- non when he learns that the mastermind he must deal with is none oth- er than the now-grown Karim, who is willing to exchange Cal for his missing brother, ru- mored to be languishing in an Israeli prison. A raw, super-realistic tale of revenge, set in a god- forsaken kill zone not on this critic’s bucket list. Excellent HHHH Rated R for profanity, vi- olence and a nude image In English and Arabic with subtitles Running time: 109 min- utes Production Studios: Ra- dar Pictures / ShivHans Pictures / Kasbah - Film Tanger To see a trailer visit TheSkanner.com.
