‘Chappaquiddick’ Trailer: Jason Clarke’s Ted Kennedy Faces Controversy

It’s not just Hollywood being rocked by sexual harassment and assault scandals, but Washington is also seeing a bright light shined on its darker corners. Al Franken, John Conyers, and Roy Moore among others have faced controversy, not to mention that the country is being led by someone who has openly bragged about crossing boundaries with women. All this is to say that “Chappaquiddick” arrives at a particularly potent time, if only to remind these kinds of stories have been around for decades.

Directed by John Curran (“Stone,” “Tracks“), the film stars Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy, a rising star in the political dynasty, who seems his ambitions come a screeching halt when a late night drive with campaign volunteer Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara) ends in her death. The Kennedy clan’s phalanx of PR people and influences are mobilized to try and control the story, and the questions about Ted and Mary Jo’s relationship, but it may just be that America’s first moon landing manages to keep the Ted’s story from going viral (or whatever the equivalent of going viral was at that time).

Byron Allen, the chairman and CEO of Entertainment Studios, has promised a $16 million advertising campaign for the picture, and he believes the picture has plenty of contemporary resonance. “It’s very timely. What happened then would be gargantuan news today. At the end of the day, the landing on the moon really did an amazing job of keeping him off the front page,” he told THR.

Also starring Ed Helms and Olivia Thirlby, “Chappaquiddick” opens on April 6, 2018.