The Whales of August is a 1987 film directed by Lindsay Anderson, starring Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, and Vincent Price. It was adapted by screenwriter David Berry from his own play of the same name.
The story, set sometime in The '50s, concerns two elderly sisters, Libby (Davis) and Sarah (Gish), who live together in their old family house on a small island off the coast of Maine. Sarah is more able-bodied and in somewhat better shape, so she takes care of her blind, frail sister Libby. While Sarah has a generally positive outlook on life, Libby has become bitter and morbid in her old age. The two sisters argue about whether or not to install a picture window in the house. The attentions of Mr. Maranov (Price), a would-be suitor for Sarah, provide another source of conflict. While this is happening, Sarah is keeping a lookout for the arrival of the whales, whose seasonal migration has them pass by the island every August.
Few films have a cast with a longer pedigree than the cast of The Whales of August. It was the final film role for Gish, who was 94 years old and had been in the movie business for 75 years, having made her film debut in D. W. Griffith's An Unseen Enemy in 1912. It probably should have been the last film for Davis, whose career dated a mere 56 years back to 1931, but she wanted to keep working and appeared in one last film, Wicked Stepmother, shortly before her death in 1989. It was the last film for Ann Sothern (film debut 1927), who plays the sisters' best friend Tisha, as well as the last film of director Anderson.
Mary Steenburgen appears in the opening scene as young Sarah.
Tropes:
- Blade-of-Grass Cut: Some beautiful closeups, including a shot of a bee flitting through the flowers.
- The Caretaker: Sarah, who is in better shape and still has her eyesight, and thus cares for her blind sister.Sarah: I'm here to take care of you dear.
- Diagonal Billing: Used for Gish and Davis in the opening credits.
- December–December Romance: Hints of this between Mr. Maranov and Sarah, but Libby quite cruelly puts an end to the budding romance.
- Do Not Go Gentle: The main theme of the film. Sarah is concerned that Libby is talking so much about death. Libby for her part doesn't see why people as old as they are should bother to do anything new like install a picture window. Libby eventually comes around, seeming to resolve to make the most out of what time she has left.Libby: [last lines of the movie, as they look for the whales] Can you see them?
Sarah: The whales have all gone.
Libby: You can never tell. You can never tell. - The Eeyore: Libby has become this—old, blind, frail, estranged from her only daughter, she has become bitter and preoccupied with death. This is a source of worry for Sarah. Libby completes her character arc when she comes out of her depression, agrees with Sarah to build the picture window, and faces the future with more hope.
- Gold Digger: A very human and sad example. Mr. Maranov, who is effectively homeless and has spent decades "living with friends", hopes to romance Sarah so he can move in with the sisters. He is a kind and sweet man regardless.
- Handy Man: Joshua, the elderly handyman who pops in every so often to take care of Libby and Sarah's house, and who offers to install the picture window.
- Her Heart Will Go On: An after-the-fact example with Sarah, who still mourns the husband who was killed in World War I some forty years ago. On their anniversary she sets a table with two roses and his portrait, pours a glass of wine, and reminisces about how he undressed her on their honeymoon.
- Impoverished Patrician: Mr. Maranov is a Russian nobleman who had to flee after Red October. He has survived ever since on his mother's jewels and the kindness of strangers.
- Monochrome Past: The opening scene, set some fifty years ago, is shot in sepia tones. The scene ends with a closeup of a buoy, which turns to color as the film transitions to the present-day story.
- Scenery Porn: The staggeringly beautiful shots from the sisters' seaside cliff house are practically another character.
- Time Skip: Fifty years or so between the opening scene and the story proper, which finds Sarah and Libby as old ladies.
