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The Ballad of Wallis Island - what an exhilarating, un-Hollywood, hopeful, affecting, painful, awkward, excruciatingly funny, oddball film for the times we live in. Hats off too for the nuanced, quintessentially British performances by Tim Key, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan in a story that explores the ebb and flow of the life of the artist and creativity, together with love, grief, loneliness, celebrity, friendship and rebirth and the glorious randomness of life.
A Film for Anyone Who Is Obsessed About their Favourite Band
This is a great film for nerds and sloths and a magnificent ode to anyone who has musical heroes, loves the film Almost Famous and has ever followed their favourite band.
Oh, and the glittery allure of three-quarters of a million in cash for a very exclusive gig. Okay, it's make believe, but what the hell. It's good to dream.
The film is directed by James Griffiths, who has captured the quirky, off-the-wall story of The Ballad of Wallis Island, which joins other great British odd-ball comedy films such as Local Hero and looks back to film classics such as Whisky Galore and The Ealing Comedies. He also celebrates the writers and its stars Tim Key and Tom Basden. Griffith directs with a simplicity and warmth which lets the characters, humanity and comedy shine.
The film is based on their short film from 2007. The two actors who are frequent collaborators have joked that they didn't think a full-length version of the Ballad of Wallis Island would ever get made. Thank goodness that it did.
Tim Key is Charles Heath, a lonely, eccentric widower, and two-time lottery winner who hires the two singers in his all-time favourite folk-rock band, McGwyer Mortimer, to reunite and come and do a concert at his home on a remote island off the coast of Wales to remember his wife Marie, who died five years ago. It's a concert for one, and he is blowing a cool £800,000 all for love.
Fearless, Awkward Comedy
The problem is that Charles, who has a genius for putting his foot in it, doesn't have any boundaries. Tim Key's type of comedy requires bravery. He exposes our frailties and yearnings to fit in, to belong, no matter how excruciating.
Charles is like a big golden retriever. He wears his heart loudly, and he is not used to having houseguests. Charles's self-imposed isolation after his wife's death provides the comedy in the film, as Charles freaks out grumpy Herb by showing him a suitcase with half a million pounds in cash and then gives him just a £50 advance.
The rest of the half million is payable on delivery of the gig. Will Herb be able to stand his host long enough to get the money?
Tim Key has a painful genius to make himself look like an idiot, whether he is playing Father Christmas, boiling Herb's iPhone in a pot of rice or having to be rescued instead of rescuing Herb when he thinks his rock n roll guest has decided to end it all by walking out into the sea in his underpants.
Key makes himself look silly and childlike with the same degree of flair and comic brilliance as Laurel and Hardy. He is fearless in the pursuit of comedy.
Slowly, it is the mishaps and the love and passion for the music that show Herb that Charles is a good person and that he truly appreciates the music. Charles also probes Herb about the real reason for his split with Nell and then fails to tell him that Nell is coming too. Herb hasn't seen Mel for almost a decade after they parted as lovers and as the band because he went off and made a solo album.
Now for the bombshell. Nell is married and pregnant.
The Musician In Pursuit of a Muse
Tom Basden is uncannily authentic as a fading, introspective yet ego-driven musician who never takes his shades off and has gone from writing folk anthems to dire dance music collaborations and is essentially lost, insecure and deeply unhappy. The story also pokes fun at the current state of music, with musicians making themselves look ridiculous and trying to sell youth and sex instead of authenticity. Mel points this out to Herb and also shows him that his teeth have been whitened on his forthcoming album, making him look like the Cheshire Cat. It is not a good look.
Gradually, through the innocent passion, enthusiasm and encouragement of Charles, Herb begins to thaw, open up and rediscover the music that made him and Nell stars, but not before many awkward mishaps and getting repeatedly soaked and a wicked attempt to get Nell back.
When is the Real McGwyer Mortimer Tour with Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden?
One of the most memorable scenes is where Herb and Mel reminisce about the highlights of the band as they pour over magazine and newspaper cuttings that Charles has kept and treasured. Then, they start jamming to the enthralled delight of Charles, who declares, 'You can keep Hadrian's Wall.'
Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan are so good as the fictional folk duo McGwyer Mortimer that I would pay good money to go and see them play, just not £800,000! So, when is the tour?
The film also exposes the fault lines that have broken up many rock 'n' roll bands, from artistic rivalry and jealousy to who wrote the hit songs and the revelation that Charles is paying Herb more than Mel for the gig.
If there is one thing I would change about The Ballad of Wallis Island, it is that Mel, Carey Mulligan's flight from the island, seems too sudden and forced. Oh, and there is sweet chemistry between Mel and Herb, as Charles naughtily points out, so La Belle Dame Sans Merci just doesn't cut it with me.
Carey Mulligan is Spookily Good As a Musical Hippie Chick
Apologies, but I feel she should have faced the music and stayed and played the gig with Herb. The annoying husband is just that. Annoying, and he doesn't love the music. He is more interested in the cash and hanging out with a circus of puffins than his wife. While the concert on the beach is spectacular, it would have been even better with Mel, who is pitch-perfect as a folk songstress with eyes dusted with stardust, stellar sequins and a kooky, ethereal hippie chick wardrobe to match. I wonder who Mulligan based her performance on. Any suggestions?
The Ballad of Wallis Island is a film that might encourage you to look at your own life and tell yourself that things have to change. Important things, like flying more lanterns and making wishes and giving lonely eccentrics the benefit of the doubt.
The Rice Scene in The Ballad of Wallis Island
In a world where loneliness and lack of community are huge problems, The Ballad of Wallis Island is a meditation on joy and friendship and how music brings people together and above all, like another wonderful film about the power of music, a beautiful ode to following the band. Your favourite band, as in Almost Famous.
The film also pays homage to the great folk rock singers and troubadours of the sixties with a folk-rock soundtrack written and performed by Tom Basden, accompanied by Carey Mulligan, that is a free-flowing, musical odyssey which will run around and around your brain, long after the film credits roll.
I think the music is a lasting testament to a beautiful and authentic film to be enjoyed in front of a roaring fire, while dreaming about your next gig to follow the band.
Watch the film on Youtube and other outlets. The film is available to buy on eBay but it is still expensive. Look out for the official DVD/Bluray,which is still to be announced. The Luminaries Magazine encourages readers to buy DVDs of their favourite films so that you can watch and enjoy them at any time.
Buy the film soundtrack - The soundtrack for the film The Ballad of Wallis Island is available in the UK from HMV Online.
Alison Jane Reid
Copyright Alison Jane Reid/The Luminaries Magazine. September 2025 All Rights in all format reserved. No copying or Ai usage whatsoever.
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