The Whales of August

Lillian Gish and Bette Davis play two elderly sisters in Lindsay Anderson’s reflective, acutely observed study of old age, relationships and the passing of time.

  • Director

    Lindsay Anderson

  • With

    Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Southern

  • USA 1987. 91min

  • Digital

  • Certificate

    U

It’s 1954, and elderly sisters Sarah and Libby pass a reflective summer’s day at their family’s beach house in Maine. Sarah remains positive, but Libby has become embittered and cynical. In this adaptation of David Berry’s play, Anderson’s gentle direction keeps the pace as unhurried as the breeze around the beautifully shot coastline. Uncharacteristic it may be, but it is also a rare unpatronising portrait of old age, performed by two genuine Hollywood legends.