You need to know our Mary Jo Kopechne
‘Chappaquiddick’ film dispels old stereotypes
“With Bobby it was different. It didn’t feel like politics, it felt like public service.” — Kate Mara as Mary Jo Kopechne in Chappaquiddick.
Mary Jo Kopechne was far more than the timeless black-and-white photo of a young, beautiful woman looking slightly upward, the lasting visage seared into the conscience of a country that never really knew her. Five decades after her tragic death, she and her family are finally receiving justice — not based upon her death but upon her life.
The portrayal of Mary Jo in the new film Chappaquiddick quickly dispels whatever stereotypes people may have developed about her over the years. She was not a wide-eyed Capitol Hill staffer straight out of college, like many who descend upon Washington every year convinced that they’ll be the one to change the world.
She was a 28-year-old seasoned idealist in a time when everything seemed possible. She invested her time and talent in the man who likely would have been the 37th president of the United States: Robert Francis Kennedy.
She saw firsthand how the younger brother of a former president, cut down tragically at the pinnacle of his life, was poised to succeed him in the Oval Office. She witnessed the younger Kennedy — as did the entire country — bring calm to an infuriated community in Indianapolis after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
She worked tirelessly alongside her colleagues in Robert Kennedy’s campaign, bringing him to the precipice of the nomination after victory in the California presidential primary — with only the Democratic convention in Chicago ahead.
And then, in another moment frozen in time, he too was gone.
Where does one go after being so devoted to a cause greater than any one candidate or political party? A year after the chaos at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles is where Chappaquiddick picks up Mary Jo’s story.
She is conflicted about her future, about whether to continue the cause as a senior member of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s staff or to get away from Washington, from politics and the emotional roller coaster it can be.
She wasn’t on Chappaquiddick Island in July 1969 just for a reunion with her fellow Kennedy campaign workers; she was charting her future course. Mary Jo’s civil rights work in the 1960s was unprecedented for women in that era. Her colorblind compassion and concern for those less fortunate aligned with Robert Kennedy’s work in that area, and we are proud of the achievements they made.
We will never know what that course would have held for her, but we do know through letters from close friends and personal effects that she believed in a better America. In publishing the book Our Mary Jo, we — as part of her family — tried to begin to fulfill a legacy so sadly cut short. Likewise, the scholarship in her name keeps her own eternal flame alive. Chappaquiddick is an honest recounting of American history, pivotal to understanding the lengths to which those in power will go to avoid accountability, protect their power, and preserve their political viability. The film touches on Mary Jo’s ideals, although it is the Kennedy inquest rendition of what happened the night Mary Jo died.
It is, in all its heartache, the classic American tragedy. We were pleasantly surprised with the care that the producers, writers and cast took when tackling this movie, and pleased with their portrayal of Mary Jo’s character and ambitions.
We believe that when you realize who Mary Jo was as a person, it makes her loss an even greater tragedy. She has given many people many great days, and through these recent projects, we are pleased Mary Jo continues to do so today.