EL SEGUNDO HERALD April 12, 2018 Page 7
Entertainment
By Ashley DeFrancesco
for www.cinemacy.com
Friday, July 18, 1969. Not a date that
many young movie viewers may find
significant, but director John Curran’s
Chappaquiddick teaches us about that
deadly night that included a tragic cover-up
and criminal negligence.
Chappaquiddick is the story of how high
political power makes a man indestructible.
Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy (Jason
Clarke) and aspiring political strategist Mary
Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara) get into a vehicular
accident when Kennedy steers off Dike
Bridge in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts
around 12:30 a.m. While Ted survives the
crash, Mary Jo does not. She is found 10
hours later inside the flipped car at the bottom
of Poucha Pond. Ten hours… so what
was Kennedy doing all that time? Why
didn’t he call the police right away? What
kind of legal troubles did he get into? Most
importantly, why I haven’t heard of this?
All these questions swirled in my head as I
watched this heartbreaking docudrama and
was reminded that the trend of protecting
our political heads of state over serving
justice has long plagued our nation.
Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan wrote
a screenplay showing the ugly underbelly
of politics and power in America. Due to a
majority of the nation’s unrest with our current
administration, I was deeply distressed
to see that almost everyone in Ted’s life was
spinning the tragedy so that he could still
run for president in the future.
The singular voice of reason during the
days after the accident is Ted’s cousin Joe
Gargan (Ed Helms), who continues to urge
the senator to follow his compass and stay
with the truth rather than fabricate a story. He
tries to be the Jiminy Cricket to Ted’s lost and
broken Pinocchio, but has little success as the
manipulative and tightly gripped hand of Joe
Kennedy continues to pull the strings. Back
at the Kennedy compound, while the team
is working to change the negative headlines,
Gargan bitingly says, “A girl dies and Ted
is a martyr?” His frustration and disgust at
the easily crafted deception of Ted Kennedy
as the victim highlights the theme of justice
coming second to maintaining political power.
Nothing will stop the Kennedy machine from
destroying everything in its path in the name
of that power.
The cast is exceptional in their portrayals
of these real and flawed people. Clarke’s Ted
Kennedy shows us a man who is struggling
with the constant pressure of living in his
brother’s shadow while wanting to create a
name and legacy for himself. Helms masters
the complicated and conflicted relationship
that Gargan had with Kennedy during this
time. Kate Mara’s Mary Jo perfectly paints
the struggle between moving forward after
the devastation of Robert Kennedy’s assassination,
and remaining part of the family
because of the connection she had during
Bobby’s election campaign. Although not
given much screen time, she illustrates how
history chooses who is remembered, whose
story will be told, and who becomes an
afterthought.
In today’s world, we continue to see this
struggle between political power and justice.
Like the men portrayed in Chappaquiddick,
we see so many lie, deny and create the
narrative given to the public to survive and
gain -- or maintain -- the ultimate power that
politics can represent. This movie serves as a
reminder that we cannot let those who are given
this power run wildly with it. It asks us
to take a hard look at those who we have
elected and evaluate if they are working for
opportunity or with integrity, as Gargan says
to Kennedy. Lawyer Ted Sorensen perfectly
sums it up when he says, “History usually
has the final word on those things.” Chappaquiddick
gives us the opportunity to look
at this historically tragic event once again
and decide how we want to remember it,
giving us permission to use this refined critical
lens as we write the history that future
generations will learn.
101 minutes. Chappaquiddick is rated
PG-13. Now playing at Arclight Hollywood,
The Landmark, AMC Marina, and AMC
Century City. •
The Unbreakable Code: Thrilling
Mystery Perfect for Teen Readers
Reviewed by Katrena Woodson,
Teen and Young Reader Librarian,
El Segundo Public Library
For this week, I chose to review a
thrilling mystery book by the New York
Times Bestselling author Jennifer Chambliss
Bertman. The Unbreakable Code is the second
book in the “Book Scavenger” series. The
young sleuths from the first book, Emily and
James, are back at it again. This time they
find a coded note from their teacher, Mr.
Quisling, which leads to their discovery of a
trail of encrypted messages hidden in books
around San Francisco. It does not take long
for Emily and James to discover that their
teacher is trying to break a legendary historical
puzzle known as the unbreakable code. As they
dig deeper, they make a connection between
these encrypted messages and string of fires
that puts them in danger. The story proves
to be extremely suspenseful and is packed
with clues, codes and literary references as
well as mysterious fires.
This is a tremendously enjoyable read that
will captivate young readers ages 9-14 and
is exactly the type of book for teens who
love solving puzzles and breaking codes. If
this sounds like your teen (6th to 12th grade),
you will want to make sure they come by
the El Segundo Public Library on April 17
for Teen Club. This event will be from 3:30
to 4:30 p.m. in the Friends of the Library
Room where they can put their skills to the
test and take part in an escape room!
The El Segundo Public Library offers
access to its collection of titles in a variety
of formats, including traditional hardback,
e-books and books on CD. To check out The
Unbreakable Code by Jennifer Chambliss
Bertman, or any other title on your to-read
list, please visit the library to apply for your
library card, or please contact the reference
staff for further assistance. •
Film Review
Ashley DeFrancesco.
Check It Out
Chappaquidick, Courtesy of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
The Unbreakable Code by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.
Katrena Woodson.
“To read a paper book is another
experience: you can do it on
a ship, on the branch of a tree, on
your bed, even if there is a blackout.”
– Umberto Eco
Community Briefs from page 2
Smoky Hollow Specific Plan Launch Event
The City of El Segundo is nearing the end of
the Smoky Hollow Specific Plan update process.
To get the community involved and excited
about these new updates, the City invites the
community to a launch event for the Smoky
Hollow Specific Plan, to be held on April 19
at 6 p.m. at Big Doo (114 Sheldon St.). Light
refreshments will be served and all are welcome!
The proposed new Specific Plan will regulate
private development in the Smoky Hollow area
and will identify a new, long-term vision with
objectives for private development and public
improvements within the Specific Plan area.
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)
and Draft Specific Plan have been released for
public review and comment and can be found
on this link: http://www.elsegundo.org/depts/
planningsafety/planning/smoky_hollow_specific_
plan_update.asp
The review period on the DEIR opened on
March 8 and ends April 23. The City encourages
public agencies, service providers and
members of the general public to review and
comment on the document. These documents
can be found at the City of El Segundo Planning
and Building Safety Department, City
of El Segundo Public Library, and online at
the following link: www.elsegundo.org/depts/
planningsafety/planning
Comments on the Draft EIR will be accepted
by the City until 5 p.m. on Monday,
April 23. Please email your written comments
to psamaras@elsegundo.org, or mail them to
the City of El Segundo Planning and Building
Safety Department, 350 Main St., El Segundo,
CA 90245. Attention: Paul Samaras, AICP,
Principal Planner.
– Source: City of El Segundo •
over 3,000 participants, with profits going
back to the El Segundo public schools. To
register for the 27th Annual Run for Education,
visit http://www.esrun4education.com.
For questions email info@esrun4education.
com. Volunteer and follow us on Facebook
@esrun4education.
– Content Provided by Maria Barden
Infamous Ted Kennedy Scandal Is
Explored in Film Chappaquiddick