Universal Studios
Bemused barely begins to cover it when musician Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) travels to the remote Wallis Island and learns that the gig he has been booked to play will only have an audience of one, namely the eccentric, widowed lottery winner Charles Heath (Tim Key).
However, the size of the audience is not the only thing Charles has kept from Herb, as Charles has also booked Herb’s former partner in both music and life, Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), as Charles wishes to reunite the celebrated but long-retired folk duo of McGwyer Mortimer to relive the joy and emotion the band stirred in his late wife Marie.
What unfolds is an absurd yet down-to-earth tale of the deeply human urge to seek out the comfort of the past as we choose to remember it, which is inevitably juxtaposed by the ever-changing nature of life so integral to the human experience, and how the expectations of the former are usually shattered by the reality of the latter.
The landscape of the remote island off the Welsh coast further underlines the unabashed quality of the narrative and its themes, as the cinematography effortlessly captures the allure of nature’s raw beauty as at once both soothing and cruel, its nakedness forcing the characters to reflect on their unresolved feelings in order to enable growth.
Basden’s Herb is arrogant and prickly, but before you can write him off as a one-note character with no redeemable features, an outburst of emotion reveals what is actually going on behind his shield of dismissive standoffishness, renewing interest in his character.
In turn, Key’s Charles makes for an excellent foil to Basden’s Herb, his incessant, awkward joking veering dangerously close to being unbearable, but just when you think the humor has reached a point where you can no longer suspend your disbelief, Charles’ grief seeps through the cracks of his forced smile with nuance and intensity.
Mulligan’s Nell serves as the grounding anchor between the contrasting leading men, effortlessly imbuing her performance with presence and humanity like only she can, and the few supporting players also play their parts well without intruding on the various dynamics between Charles, Herb, and Nell.
The Ballad of Wallis Island is the kind of lowkey filmmaking that mixes comedy and drama in an unassuming and quintessentially British manner, where the dry humor effortlessly sneaks up on you and threatens to enter the realm of cringe, only to be skilfully undercut by the relatable vulnerability of its human themes.
Compelling performances and competent filmmaking ensure that the film delivers within the narrative framework it has set for itself, and while it will hardly bowl you over with storytelling innovation, it wears its commitment and sincerity on its sleeve, making it an engaging and enjoyable way to spend 100 minutes.
Verdict: 7 out of 10.
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