The Whales of August (1987) review

Elderly siblings Sarah (Lillian Gish) and her blind sister Libby (Bette Davis) take their summer vacation at their house on Cliff Island - to escape the Philly heat - and reminisce about their late husbands, get a visit from old friend Tisha (Ann Sothern), have dinner with Russian expat Mr. Maranov (Vincent Price) and anticipate that the whales (like Godot?) will appear off the coast.  The plot is exceptionally thin and it relies on Libby being grumpy for any kind of "drama," but the way it handles the topic of aging is refreshing: it was very brave for stars from the Hollywood's Golden Years to allow the medium that captured them in their youth to show them in their advanced years (it was the last feature for both Gish and Sothern).  For cinephiles, it's a huge nostalgia bomb ... and Davis has a short but sweet bit worth remembering: "Life fooled me.  It always does."