The Whales of August (1987) – DVD

**½/**** Image A- Sound A-
starring Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Anne Sothern
screenplay by David Berry, based on his play
directed by Lindsay Anderson

by Travis Mackenzie Hoover Auteurists take note: sometimes, economic circumstances play hell with your theories. There is the example of Lindsay Anderson, who began in the '60s as a star of the new British realism (This Sporting Life, et al) and went surrealist with the celebrated Mick Travis trilogy. By the end of the '80s, his particular quirks were no longer commercial, and he was reduced to sausages like The Whales of August, which bears absolutely no resemblance to the work that made his reputation. Try as one might, the film won't fit the brash, cynical template of Anderson's best work and is instead polite and obsequious in ways that a free director would never be. The resulting film is workmanlike but hardly compelling and serves mainly as a showcase for a group of aged actors who deserved better material almost as much as their director.

The whales in question swam off the shore of the heroines' Maine home: decades later, the whales no longer visit, but the now-elderly sisters are still there, with younger Sarah (Lillian Gish) taking care of the older and blind Libby (Bette Davis). There is, of course, friction: Libby is bitter and cantankerous, and can't find the good in anything–especially in the attentions of Mr. Maranov (a crisp and polite Vincent Price), the Russian aristocrat who fishes on their property. As Maranov tries to worm his way into Sarah's attentions, Libby, perhaps fearful of abandonment, tries to put on the brakes, leading Sarah to wonder if she shouldn't sell her house and put Libby in a home.

To be sure, the film is far from painful. It's a gentle, sun-dappled vision of polite people not getting terribly exercised over ripples in their particular pond. As such it's soothing–maybe a little too soothing. For instance, it's a little predictable that shining white light Gish would be the sympathetic heroine while sharp-tongued Davis would be the antagonist–the film might have had some more bite if the roles were reversed and a passive-aggressive Gish disturbed a forward-moving Davis. But David Berry's script (from his play) doesn't really allow for such an opportunity: it's hell-bent to minimize the pyrotechnics of the pain and give everything a civilized veneer. The source material is probably great for regional theatre, but exciting drama it's not, leaving one slightly underwhelmed by its soft-spoken characters (and, whenever a handyman played by Harry Carey, Jr. shows up, overly-cutesy situations).

And where is Anderson in all of this? Doing his best not to be noticed. To be sure, he was never a genius of forms, and so one can at least account for that much of the film's unobtrusive camerawork. But in staying out of the way of the material, he also ensures that nobody really connects with the theme, which in dealing with matters of the elderly and their options had the potential to be at least semi-provocative. But Anderson commits totally to Berry's gentle blandness, creating a picture that's perfect for its piddling intentions but which evaporates moments after viewing. Whatever can be said against Anderson's earlier films, they demanded your attention; The Whales of August would hardly be much different if you closed your eyes and just listened to the dialogue. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, you'll agree.

THE DVD
MGM's double-sided fullscreen/1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen disc goes well beyond what one would expect for such an obscure title. The image is surprisingly lustrous–even with the film's muted palette of earth tones, colours are remarkably vivid and detail is exceptionally fine. It's true that the source print appears to have weathered some (small) damage, but on sum, this is an excellent transfer. Though the mono soundtrack is pretty much confined to voices and music, both of these elements are full and razor-sharp. Alas, there are no extras. Rare for the studio to forgo even a trailer.

91 minutes; NR; 1.85:1 (16×9-enhanced), 1.33:1; English DD 2.0 (Mono); CC; English, French, Spanish subtitles; DVD-10; Region One; MGM