The Ballad of Wallis Island

Grade: A

The Ballad of Wallis Island is a beautiful fusion of The Banshees of Inisherin and Once. There’s a folk singer/songwriter element that will bring up memories of the latter, plus it takes place on a remote island off the UK, with the delightful quirky sneakily heartwarming vibe of the former. I will definitely be turning on the captions when it arrives on streaming platforms; I missed some dialogue because of the thick accents and soft, understated lines. However, I’d like to think I know music, I’d like to think I know love, and I’d like to think I know great filmmaking – and on the first viewing, my heart caught exactly what it needed to loud and clear.

It’s based on a short film from 2007 called The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. The creative team is intact 18 years later, as James Griffiths returns to direct, as do writers/stars Tom Basden and Tim Key. Basden plays folk musician Herb McGwyer, who “docks” at the portless Wallis Island. He has been commissioned by two-time lottery winner Charles Heath (Key, who appeared in Mickey 17, Wicked Little Letters, and See How They Run) to play a solo acoustic concert for what Charles tells him is “less than 100 people.” The number, Herb learns soon after arriving, is one. Charles IS the audience.

Herb rose to fame as one half of a popular duo called McGwyer & Mortimer, of which Charles and his late wife were obsessive fans. His Garfunkel was Nell Mortimer, whose relationship he had with her went beyond that of a writing/performing partner. They have barely seen each other or spoken since the group’s breakup and their falling-out a decade prior. He will find out that she has been invited to Wallis Island to perform with him, but not before some fun fish-out-of-water expository business. The “hotel” where Herb is staying is, in reality, a guest room with questionable amenities at Charles’s home. He and Charles had to walk there. He is drenched from a boat unboarding mishap, leaving his phone in need of a rice bath, if they can find some on the island. Charles is an effusive talker with the skill of picking up on social cues of John Candy’s Del Griffith from Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Herb is off the grid.

Nell (Carey Mulligan) arrives, with her American husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen) in tow. They are also staying at “Hotel Charles.” This is so far from what Herb thought he signed up for. One of my favorite things to see in a film is a curmudgeonly character easing into happiness – adapting to the situation, finding joy, and finally smiling. As old wounds are hashed out so they can properly be put to bed and heal, Herb oddly warms up to his time on the island, and even Charles. He gives Charles love advice, regarding a crush he’s had, and with whom has been too timid to make a first move. Throughout the movie, the action is suited to the word by the actors, and the music is suited to the fingers of the musicians. Every note played and sung is real. Mulligan does her usual wonderful work, and delivers on the songs. Ndifornyen is appealing as Michael, and it was nice to not have to strain to decipher what he was saying. Though I didn’t understand everything that was spoken, that just means that there’s more gift to be gotten on a repeat viewing.

In the end, we are left open with so much to process, speculate, and otherwise noodle about in our heads, when it comes to how what transpired will color everyone in the future. One thing is for certain: nobody we meet in the movie is the same person they were at the beginning. They have lived, laughed, learned, and grown with this experience under their belts. I was positively bewitched by The Ballad of Wallis Island. It’s a perfect comfort meal of a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup on an overcast, windy, cold day at the seashore.

Grade: A