Ethel

An attempt to tell one of the lesser-known stories of the Kennedy family, this documentary does its best to allow its subject, Ethel Kennedy, to give us an account of her life in her own words. Inevitably, Ethel is done in the shadow of two high-profile assassinations: those of her husband, Robert F. Kennedy, and his brother, President John F. Kennedy. Ethel and the other interviewees -- her children, the youngest of whom, filmmaker Rory, is also the documentary's director -- are at their most talkative when relaying family anecdotes about their slightly chaotic households, and also the work their parents did to help further the civil rights movement.

This glowing family portrait highlights how committed the group remain to one another, and also does a good job portraying how grief affects us all. Ethel's reluctance to offer any introspection about her life and loved ones also perhaps shows more than she realizes. Her stoicism suits her to life in the public eye as a political and human rights campaigner, as does her lack of ego. Of course, there is another history of the Kennedy family that is not explored here, perhaps for obvious reasons. Various conspiracies, accusations, and scandals are also part of their past. Ethel might not be the documentary to discuss them, but there's no escaping the sense that it's one-sided and enjoyed best as edited highlights of one of the United States' most famous families.