The Ballad of Wallis Island is an absolute delight. This is a film as intoxicatingly beautiful and peaceful as the Welsh seaside village where the story takes place. The brainchild of British comedians Tim Key and Tom Basden, this endearing feature is based on their short, The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, which won Best British short at the 2007 Edinburgh festival. A serene tonic to our current tumultuous times, this is a sweet picture about good people trying to navigate the past and move beyond different types of personal loss. 

Today’s movie culture bows to the gods of big-budget, bang-for-your-buck, CGI extravaganzas that occasionally dazzle but leave no real imprint. Adult-themed stories that sneak into a small release are few and far between, with films for anyone over 30 being shoved to streaming services after a week in a few theaters. Rare is the chance to find a work that achieves the balance of good storytelling, well-written characters, and an inherent kindness so intoxicating that we wish the film would continue past its run time. Writers-stars Tom Basden and Tim Key and director James Griffiths have created such a work. The trio (along with co-lead Carey Mulligan) found a way to make something fresh out of a plot that may feel familiar. 

Tim Key is Charles, a lonely two-time lottery-winning millionaire who lives in a big near-mashion on Wallis Island, a remote and sparsely populated Welsh village. Charles is a lifelong fan of the defunct Folk duo McGwyer Mortimer and hires them to perform a private show just for him. The singers, Herb (Tom Basden) and Nell (Carey Mulligan), have not seen one another for a decade or more, as they were former lovers and the breakup ended their romance and music career as a duo. The two have no idea the other is coming and are startled to find that Charles secretly contacted each separately in the hopes of a reunion that would ignite the spark they once had. Nell takes it better than the constantly annoyed Herb, as she has brought her new husband (Akemnji Ndifornyen) with whom she is having a child. While she misses the music, Nell’s life is balanced. Herb is still stinging from their breakup and his emotions are as disheveled as his appearance and as aggravated as his personality. 

Herb and Nell are pulled into the orbit of Charles’s strange pleasantness and over-eager tendencies. The man has been a loner on the island for too long and doesn’t have a grasp on boundaries and personal space. As the well-meaning Charles constantly annoys his new guest with nonstop questions about why he and Nell broke it off, Herb teeters between annoyance and being intrigued by his host’s strange ways. 

Some good humor comes out of Charles and Herb existing together in uncomfortable “Felix and Oscar” situations. Both characters walk the fine line of “aggravating”, but the actors make these men real people with relatable issues. There is a certain quirk to their designs (Charles is more comically offbeat than the dour Herb), but Basden and Key’s screenplay is crafted with a sense of what makes us human. If the film was to go over-the-top with the comedy, The Ballad of Willis Island wouldn’t work. It is in the natural idiosyncrasies of the different personalities where the film finds its tender reality. 

Charles has a good sense of humor and is constantly quipping. The film’s laughs mostly come from his silly one-liners (“Houston, we have chutney, and it’s not a problem.”) and warm disposition, but this is a man who cannot exist in the silences. Charles is living with a sadness that can only be sidelined by conversation and tamed (if ever so briefly) by the songs of his favorite group. All of the actors do fantastic work, but Tim Key assures that Charles will find his way into our hearts. Molding Charles with the peculiar personality of a character found in the works of director Bill Forsyth and the pure heart of “Chauncey Gardner” from Hal Ashby’s classic, Being There, Key’s incredibly touching work will stay with you. 

For Herb and Nell, it was their music that connected them and (Charles hopes) it will reunite the two once again. For Nell, it is about trying to find the soul of their songs. After all these years, it is hard for her to find that connection to the lyrics. For Nell, times have changed too strongly and their songs are just memories of a life in music that was long ago. Herb is more affected by revisiting their work. The words bring back the pain of his mistakes that led to the breakup. No one is aware of the emotional repercussions (for Charles, Herb, and Nell) that will result from this coming together of  wounded souls 

Director Griffiths and his cast give the whole experience and easy-going lived-in feel. Griffith’s direction doesn’t call attention to itself, as he allows for character to guide the story. G. Magni Ágústsson’s camera achieve’s some stunning visuals as he fills the frame with the beauty of the island and its surrounding waters. With such expert camerawork that allows a sense of place, Wallis Island is as much a character as Charles, Herb, and Nell. 

The Ballad of Wallis Island is a charming and quietly moving film and a mature rumination of lives in flux. The picture is filled with moments so naturally charming that audiences will leave the theater floating on a cloud. These are good people trying to live good lives. Pain gets us all, but unexpected connections and an open heart can heal even the most tragic personal wounds.

The emotional power of music is the thread that connects the three leads. The songs continue to touch each character in different ways. Together for a few days, perhaps Charles, Herb, and Nell may find a way past their respective inner turmoils through the music that will forever connect them.

Though Herb and Nell broke up and the musical duo is long over, their songs have a lasting impact on their futures, their legacy, and to Charles, a man whose sweet soul will touch us all. 

As Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (the two B’s in ABBA) wrote, 

“So I say thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing, Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing

Who can live without it? I ask in all honesty

What would life be?

Without a song or a dance, what are we?”

The Ballad of Wallis Island

Written by Tim Key and Tom Basden

Directed by James Griffiths

Starring Tim Key, Tom Basden, Carey Mulligan, Akemnji Ndifornyen, Sian Clifford

PG-13, 99 Minutes, Focus Features, BBC Studios, Baby Cow Productions