The Whales Of August (1987)

Two sisters spend their summers on an island in Maine in the home they've shared for years. Sarah (Lillian Gish) has a gentle nature and a positive outlook while Libby (Bette Davis) is cantankerous and bitter. Based on a play by David Berry (who also wrote the screenplay), the film offers up the opportunity to see the greatest actress of the silent era (Gish) and, arguably, the greatest actress of the sound era (Davis) act together. The term legend is criminally overused but not in the case of these actresses, authentic legends both. It's a slight piece, there's no real plot to speak of but the cast infuses the material with a genuine poignancy that's not necessarily in the writing. Gish had one of the most expressive faces in silent cinema and one can read her frustration with her sister or the memory of her lost love on her face without benefit of dialogue. Davis, ravaged from a real life stroke, still has the fire that made her the preeminent actress of her generation. Even though the film deals with the aging process with the Grim Reaper hovering around, it's not a depressing or sad film yet it's not sentimental either. The director Lindsay Anderson (THIS SPORTING LIFE) keeps the film focused while the cinematographer Mike Fash takes full advantage of the stunning Maine locale. With Ann Sothern (in an Oscar nominated performance), Vincent Price, Mary Steenburgen as the young Gish, Tisha Sterling (Sothern's daughter) as the young Sothern, Margaret Ladd as the young Davis and Harry Carey Jr.