Film Review - The Whales of August

Lindsay Anderson had an unusual career - his filmography as a director is dominated by realist drama This Sporting Life and the acerbic Mick Travis trilogy but his career was more complicated, including a lot of theatre and a day job as a film critic of some repute. Come the eighties he was almost an establishment figure and took a few jobs for cash, notably a small acting role in Chariots of Fire and even directing a concert film for Wham.

The Whales of August was his last cinematic release (little-seen evangelism satire Glory! Glory! would follow for HBO two years later) and it's very much from the part of Anderson that loved cinema. A charming slow-paced piece about the later days of two sisters finding themselves finally growing closer as their lives wind down, the film is mainly interesting for the chance to see cinematic icons Bette Davis and Lillian Gish duel in their old age, ably backed by a similarly aged Ann Sothern, Victor Price and Harry Carey turning in fine performances in the twilight of their careers under the watchful eye of a professional cinephile. It's gentle but never syrupy and while it lacks the anger of much of Anderson's work it has a lovely glow to it.