This British comedy-drama film tells the story of an eccentric lottery winner who invites his favourite musicians to perform at his Island home so that he can relive his fantasies.
THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND. Starting: Tom Basden, Tim Key, and Carey Mulligan. Also, Akemnji Ndifornyen, and Sian Clifford. Directed by James Griffiths. Rated PG (Mild coarse language and mental health themes). 100 min.
Review by Peter W Sheehan, Jesuit Media Australia
The film is written by Tim Key and Tom Basden, who also star in the movie, and is based on an earlier shorter film. Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden), a folk musician, arrives on Wallis Island to link up with Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan). Both of them expect to play for their fans, but they end up playing just for one man – Charles Heath (Tim Key). Herb and Nell are a folk-duo who have regularly performed as a musical twosome, and on Wallis Island they are genuinely surprised to find that they are performing for a wealthy lottery winner, Charles, who now lives by himself. Charles’ ex-bandmate is Nell, and Herb and Nell split up as a romantic item long before. Charles Heath became a multimillionaire by winning a lottery twice – his wife died five years earlier; and he has lived as a recluse on Wallis Island ever since. The loss of Charles’ wife is painful, and he is emotionally adrift. Nell’s American husband (played by Akemnji Ndifornyen) appears briefly twice.
The film is spontaneously acted, well scripted, and conveys folk tunes on a remote, picturesque island off the coast of Wales. The presence of Nell opens up romantic memories for Herb and he finds himself attracted to her again. The film is not really about Herb, Nell, or Charles, however, but about people who have moved on in their lives, and want to re-discover themselves. The soulful folk music in the film pleasantly reinforces the emotional plight of each of the key characters. Tom Basden plays a lovelorn soul well, and Carey Mulligan sings Nell with soul.
This is a comedy that begins slowly and picks up dramatic pace as it progresses. It downplays the complex emotions of the various couples, and leaves it to viewers to frame the end result. En route to its denouement, it plays loosely and liberally with love, loss, grief, and nostalgia. Situational humour keeps the laughter going without too much pathos, and the film addresses the theme of “moving-on” as its main concern while keeping characters’ memories of their past behaviour intact. Key situations are comical, and many carry a surprise element as they unfold. Overall, this is an entertaining movie that slowly morphs into a film that astutely recognises the emotional significance of human love, loss, and grief.
Reviewed by Peter W. Sheehan, an Associate of Jesuit Media