THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND - Mark Reviews Movies

The Ballad of Wallis Island, Focus Features

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Review by Mark Dujsik | March 27, 2025

The characters of The Ballad of Wallis Island are fairly simple people who wear their hearts on their sleeves but don't say much about what's really troubling them. That's their way, although each of the three main characters here—an estranged duo of folk musicians who haven't seen each other in about a decade and their biggest living fan—has a different reason for keeping silent. They do share one thing in common, though: If they spoke the truth, the fallout might be more painful than the heartache they're already carrying.

Director James Griffiths' film is a lovely little story about this trio of characters, who come together on a remote island off the coast of the United Kingdom and gradually figure out that, maybe, they don't have to lug around the weight of the past. The screenplay by Tim Key and Tom Basden goes exactly where one expects it to, but since we like these characters so much and come to understand their flaws so well, that's not a complaint. Sometimes, a predictably happy ending is more satisfying than any alternative.

The screenwriters star in the film, too. Key and Basden are regular working actors, whose faces might be recognizable to those who pay attention to British movie and television imports. They haven't, as far as can be recalled or determined from their résumés, had roles as prominent as these in the past, so the film is a solid reminder to actors that, if the roles you're destined to play aren't coming your way or don't exist, it might be a good idea to write those roles for yourself.

Key, for example, is entirely endearing as Charles Heath, one of the few residents of the eponymous island, which is only accessible by boat and a coxswain whose weekly schedule is handwritten, indecipherable, and not exactly consistent (A decent number of scheduled times have the note "Sometimes" attached to them). Charles lives alone in an expansive cottage at the top of one of the island's hills, and he has for several years, following the death of his beloved wife.

When he starts talking here, it seems as if he'll never stop. It's as if he has spent those years in complete silence and, suddenly finding himself with an audience, must now get out all of those thoughts, jokes, and bits of trivia he collected over the years as quickly as possible, lest he forget them.

His newfound audience is Herb McGwyer (Basden), who was one half of a semi-popular but celebrated folk duo until nine years ago. He decided to go solo, ruining a professional and romantic relationship in the process, and for his ego-driven efforts, he hasn't come close to the fame he once possessed. Indeed, all of his attempts at a commercial breakthrough have led him to taking up Charles' offer to play a concert on Wallis Island for the price of £500,000.

Herb slowly discovers—staying at Charles' home (It's "a hotel in all but name," he explains, before adding, after a perfect beat, "and facilities"), realizing he has only met two other people on the island, seeing the "venue," which is a pair of wooden pallets on a rocky shoreline—that he'll have an audience of one. The concert is just for Charles (How the guy has that much cash to spend on a private concert is a two-part joke that won't be ruined here). If Herb took even a second to consider or even hear what his host has said about his life, the singer might realize just how much this performance will mean to the guy.

Instead, Charles goes out of his way to make Herb comfortable, failing regularly at it in amusing ways, because Charles is so star-struck and lonely and unaccustomed to the company of others. Meanwhile, Herb is set to play the show, because he does need the cash, until his old singing partner—the one who got away both professionally and personally—arrives.

To be fair, Charles does try to tell Herb that he also booked Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan) for a reunion concert. Herb is too caught up in his embarrassment and desperation to give Charles a chance to mention it, so now, he has to deal with the surprise of seeing Nell, who retired from music, again and also meeting her husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen), who's a genuinely nice guy. He seems more worried about missing out on some birdwatching opportunities than whatever past Herb and his wife had.

All of this is setup for the comedy and drama that follow, but because the characters and conflicts and air of melancholy are so well-defined from just that setup, it's also the whole point and purpose of the story. We just observe as Herb and Nell squabble over everything that happened years ago, reconnect over their old music, and find that they haven't missed a beat of the chemistry that made them successful enough to have a fan like Charles. He hovers around like a ghost, even as both Herb and Nell see how easily the guy could be living life again with the company of shopkeeper Amanda (Sian Clifford).

We get some brief snippets of a few of those songs, and while it's not enough for the music to carry the story in any way, it is enough to understand the appeal in the line, "Are you here to break my heart or to break my fall?" It's a question, actually, that everyone in The Ballad of Wallis Island could be asking of each other. As predictable as the narrative might be, it does surprise by showing respect for and wisdom in presenting Nell by letting her answer in regards to Herb be both of those things. The real answers for these characters, after all, aren't in the past but right in front of them right now.

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