In this simple yet astonishing film, five film veterans are united together to explore the prospects of getting old. Unfortunately, the respected subject matter was well beyond their years.
Lillian Gish shines her final film performance as Sarah, older sister to Libby, portrayed by Bette Davis. Their neighbors are Vincent Price and Ann Sothern. Cowboy film veteran, Harry Carey Jr. even makes an appearance as the local plumber.
Gish is the kinder, soft-hearted sister. Davis is the cantankerous, cranky and stubborn younger sister who is also blind. Gish has taken up the responsibility to look after Davis. She feels that she is indebted to her after she lost her husband in World War II and was cared for by Davis. Now the tables have turned and it is Gish who is the stronger sister. Gish looks stunning in her older years. Her face has aged into something that shows kindness and caring whereas Davis looks tired, withered and quite incapacitated. (Do note the fact that she did suffer from a stroke in the mid-80's.) The two sisters reside in Gish's homestead on the Maine coastline with a stunning view of the ocean. Hence, this is where the title of the film comes in, "The Whales of August". It is from this place where the two sisters used to gather to watch the whales at sea and also plays as the backdrop to the exact points of their lives which they are currently in.
The story never reveals exactly how old the two sisters are, but references are made to as early as 1910, which places the characters to be at least in their early 80's. And this is where the story line suffers. The sisters talk about the prospects of aging, having a driving license suspended, hearing aids, arthritis, retirement and of course, death. The two film veterans clearly look like they've given up driving a long time ago. Retirement is certainly not an issue for them. These are things that characters perhaps in their mid-50's and onwards should be discussing. Should the storyline have focused on death itself, perhaps the dialogue would have come off more convincing.
One of the biggest drawbacks to this film is Bette Davis' performance. While indeed it is respectable, she was clearly too old to take on this role as her acting was certainly scratchy in parts and there are numerous times when she has trouble remembering her lines. There are even times when it seems a little frighteningly realistic to watch and see Bette Davis hobble around and screech "Say-rah!" in her sleep as you wonder exactly just how hard it really is for her to try and keep it together.
Ann Sothern is one of the film's highlights. She plays their childhood friend and close neighbor. She takes on her trademark everyone has come to know her by - she is bubbly, nosey, interfering, yet lovable all at the same time. She prompts Gish to sell her home and send Davis away to be cared for by either her daughter or a professional. She is aware of Davis' stubborness and always has been. One amusing highlight in this movie is when Sothern offers a bowl of blueberries to Davis and yet moves it out of her reach knowing fully well that she is blind.
Vincent Price delivers a fine performance as a Russian immigrant who has a tender spot for Gish. The landlord of his house has just passed away and he faces the prospects of having to move and start anew. Davis wants nothing to do with his affairs and refuses to even toy with the idea of him dining in their home.
The cinematography is beautiful. We see 'soft-lensed' shots of flowers blowing in the breeze, the two sisters taking their daily walk along a grassy path that leads to a look-out over the cove, the sun glistening off the gentle waves of the sea while the sound-track gently plays pan-flutes and piano... Unfortunately, this is not enough to hold the film together. While indeed it is certainly astounding to see Gish, Davis, Price and Sothern on screen together, we are not there to watch a reunion of film veterans. This is a movie that could teach us all a little something and perhaps even inspire us.
This should have been an important film which covers subjects that must eventually be considered by all of us. But the film never follows up exactly what will become of the characters. Will Vincent Price find a home? Will Ann Sothern go for her driving license test? Will Gish sell her house? Will Davis be looked after by her daughter? These are certainly important aspects of the film that should have been examined as this movie was held together mainly on the development of these characters. Instead, the director serves us a lavish feast of images and gentle screen shots of Lillian Gish's face, but the core subject matter is never fully dealt with.
This film should have perhaps studied characters in their 60's to make any of the subject matter more believable. A resolution to each character's issue(s) would have also been welcome. This film meant well, but really offered no real food-for-thought. But kudos to these film legends for trying.
4/10
Lillian Gish shines her final film performance as Sarah, older sister to Libby, portrayed by Bette Davis. Their neighbors are Vincent Price and Ann Sothern. Cowboy film veteran, Harry Carey Jr. even makes an appearance as the local plumber.
Gish is the kinder, soft-hearted sister. Davis is the cantankerous, cranky and stubborn younger sister who is also blind. Gish has taken up the responsibility to look after Davis. She feels that she is indebted to her after she lost her husband in World War II and was cared for by Davis. Now the tables have turned and it is Gish who is the stronger sister. Gish looks stunning in her older years. Her face has aged into something that shows kindness and caring whereas Davis looks tired, withered and quite incapacitated. (Do note the fact that she did suffer from a stroke in the mid-80's.) The two sisters reside in Gish's homestead on the Maine coastline with a stunning view of the ocean. Hence, this is where the title of the film comes in, "The Whales of August". It is from this place where the two sisters used to gather to watch the whales at sea and also plays as the backdrop to the exact points of their lives which they are currently in.
The story never reveals exactly how old the two sisters are, but references are made to as early as 1910, which places the characters to be at least in their early 80's. And this is where the story line suffers. The sisters talk about the prospects of aging, having a driving license suspended, hearing aids, arthritis, retirement and of course, death. The two film veterans clearly look like they've given up driving a long time ago. Retirement is certainly not an issue for them. These are things that characters perhaps in their mid-50's and onwards should be discussing. Should the storyline have focused on death itself, perhaps the dialogue would have come off more convincing.
One of the biggest drawbacks to this film is Bette Davis' performance. While indeed it is respectable, she was clearly too old to take on this role as her acting was certainly scratchy in parts and there are numerous times when she has trouble remembering her lines. There are even times when it seems a little frighteningly realistic to watch and see Bette Davis hobble around and screech "Say-rah!" in her sleep as you wonder exactly just how hard it really is for her to try and keep it together.
Ann Sothern is one of the film's highlights. She plays their childhood friend and close neighbor. She takes on her trademark everyone has come to know her by - she is bubbly, nosey, interfering, yet lovable all at the same time. She prompts Gish to sell her home and send Davis away to be cared for by either her daughter or a professional. She is aware of Davis' stubborness and always has been. One amusing highlight in this movie is when Sothern offers a bowl of blueberries to Davis and yet moves it out of her reach knowing fully well that she is blind.
Vincent Price delivers a fine performance as a Russian immigrant who has a tender spot for Gish. The landlord of his house has just passed away and he faces the prospects of having to move and start anew. Davis wants nothing to do with his affairs and refuses to even toy with the idea of him dining in their home.
The cinematography is beautiful. We see 'soft-lensed' shots of flowers blowing in the breeze, the two sisters taking their daily walk along a grassy path that leads to a look-out over the cove, the sun glistening off the gentle waves of the sea while the sound-track gently plays pan-flutes and piano... Unfortunately, this is not enough to hold the film together. While indeed it is certainly astounding to see Gish, Davis, Price and Sothern on screen together, we are not there to watch a reunion of film veterans. This is a movie that could teach us all a little something and perhaps even inspire us.
This should have been an important film which covers subjects that must eventually be considered by all of us. But the film never follows up exactly what will become of the characters. Will Vincent Price find a home? Will Ann Sothern go for her driving license test? Will Gish sell her house? Will Davis be looked after by her daughter? These are certainly important aspects of the film that should have been examined as this movie was held together mainly on the development of these characters. Instead, the director serves us a lavish feast of images and gentle screen shots of Lillian Gish's face, but the core subject matter is never fully dealt with.
This film should have perhaps studied characters in their 60's to make any of the subject matter more believable. A resolution to each character's issue(s) would have also been welcome. This film meant well, but really offered no real food-for-thought. But kudos to these film legends for trying.
4/10