Wednesday, 13 June 2007
The Whales of August (1987)
This is a very slight story based on an equally slight play, but the wealth of acting talent on display represents a mini-history of screen performance. For a start we have 79-year old Bette Davis and 95-year old Lillian Gish -- each in their last full film roles -- playing a pair of sisters summering on an island off the Maine coast. Gish has been caring for Davis who is both nearly blind and cantankerous, but the relationship is basically a loving one. This is one of Davis' rare roles after her stroke, and while her face is contorted and her body frail, the talent is undiminished. The other three main characters are a neighbour and childhood friend, 78-year old Ann Sothern -- a wisecracking sidekick from comedies of the 30s and 40s (also in her last screen role), 76-year old Vincent Price playing a courtly but impoverished Russian emigre, and the baby of the cast 66-year old Harry Carey, Jr -- a stalwart from the films of John Ford -- playing the local handyman. The film is a meditation on love, friendship, and how the world has changed, but whereas Davis' character seems obsessed by death, the vibrant and radiant Gish still finds life worth living. The whales that the ladies awaited in their youth might come no more, but hope and beauty live on.
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1 comment:
Sounds like a good way for them to play out. And Maine is just so beautiful, and a great backdrop for so many films.
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