Akemnji Ndifornyen, Carey Mulligan, comedy, drama, film festivals, Luka Downie, movies, reviews, Richard Griffiths, Sian Clifford, Sundance, Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, SXSW Film and TV Festival, SXSW Film Festival, The Ballad of Wallis Island, Tim Key, Tom Basden, United Kingdom
March 26, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by James Griffiths
Culture Representation: Taking place in 2025 on the fictional United Kingdom location of Wallis Island, the comedy/drama film “The Ballad of Wallis Island” features a predominantly white group of people (with one African American) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: An eccentric millionaire invites two former musical partners to reunite for a paid performance on a remote island where he owns a home, and one of the ex-partners might want more than just a musical reunion.
Culture Audience: “The Ballad of Wallis Island” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, British comedic sensibilities and mature stories about confronting the past.
“The Ballad of Wallis Island” hits many realistic and bittersweet notes in this comedy/drama about a lonely millionaire who pays for a performance reunion of two ex-lovers who used to be a famous folk-rock duo. The story is the right mix of raw and tender. This well-written and admirably acted movie has many astute observations about how people can let the past affect their expectations for the present and future.
Directed by Richard Griffiths, “The Ballad of Wallis Island” was written by Tom Basden and Tim Key, two of stars of the movie. “The Ballad of Wallis Island” had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and later screened at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival. “The Ballad of Wallis Island” is based on the BAFTA-nominated 2007 short film “The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island,” which was written by Basden and Key, who also co-starred in the film.
The Wallis Island in both movies is a fictional location in the United Kingdom. “The Ballad of Wallis Island” was actually filmed in and around Carmarthenshire, Wales. The entire story takes place on this island. Basden wrote all of the songs that are performed in the movie.
“The Ballad of Wallis Island” (which takes place in 2025) begins by showing jaded rock star Herb McGwyer (played by Basden), who is 44 years old, arriving by row boat to Wallis Island, which is a remote, sparsely populated place with a rocky beach area. He is greeted by Charles Heath (played by Key), the millionaire who has hired Herb to play a private concert on this island. Charles greets Herb warmly and enthusiastically.
But as an indication of things to come, there’s a mishap when Herb stumbles while exiting the boat and falls into the water. His cell phone is not waterproof and get damaged. Herb is going to get more unwelcome surprises.
Charles is socially awkward and has a nervous energy to him. He talks too much and tries too hard to make Herb comfortable, which has the opposite effect and makes Herb feels uneasy. The only thing that Herb has been told by his agent is that Charles is paying Herb a fee of £500,000 (about $645,460 in U.S. dollars in 2025) to perform a private concert on this island.
Herb is currently a solo artist, but he rose to fame in the 2010s as one-half of the folk-rock duo McGwyer Mortimer, which split up in 2016. The other member of this duo is Nell Mortimer (played by Carey Mulligan), who was not only Herb’s musical partner but also his love partner. They were never married but they lived together. For their McGwyer Mortimer collaborations, Herb and Nell sang lead vocals together and wrote songs together, while Herb played guitar.
McGwyer Mortimer was never a superstar act. However, McGwyer Mortimer had enough success to be described in the movie as “the best-selling U.K. folk-rock duo of 2014.” McGwyer Mortimer had a bitter breakup when Herb recorded a solo album without telling Nell. They have not spoken to each other in the nine years since their split. Herb’s solo music is more pop-oriented than McGwyer Mortimer’s music.
For this private Wallis Island concert, Charles has told Herb that Herb has total control over what the set list will be. However, Charles admits that he’s a superfan of McGwyer Mortimer and drops hints that he wants Herb to perform some McGwyer Mortimer songs at the concert. Herb has not performed McGwyer Mortimer songs in years, because he says he wants to put that part of his life behind him. When Charles asks Herb what happened in the McGwyer Mortimer breakup, Herb abruptly replies that the breakup was “mutual.”
Herb starts to become suspicious of Charles when Herb finds out that the “hotel accommodations” that Herb was expecting is really Herb’s rustic mansion. Herb lives by himself and will be doing the cooking and cleaning for Herb, who starts to wonder if Charles is a mentally ill stalker. Herb gets even more apprehensive when Charles admits that Charles will be the only audience member at this concert, which is supposed to take place on a beach.
Herb calls his agent on the nearest land line (a pay phone) and demands to know what’s going on with the concert arrangements. Herb says he’s thinking of backing out of this unusual gig. However, his agent talks Herb out of it because he says that they could use the money and it will be an easy, low-risk concert.
Besides, the next boat off of the island might not arrive for a few days. Charles told Herb that the boat service to and from the island is erratically scheduled. A running gag in the movie is how Herb feels like a fish out of water in this remote area that does not have a lot of modern amenities.
The only store on this island is a small general store owned and operated by a single mother named Amanda (played by Sian Clifford), who does her best to accommodate requests when the store doesn’t have what a customer is seeking. Amanda’s son Marcus (played by Luka Downie), who’s about 12 or 13 years old, helps her with the store. Amanda doesn’t know that Herb is famous and has never heard of McGwyer Mortimer. “I prefer ABBA,” she says.
Charles pays Herb £50,000 in cash up front to prove that Charles has access to this type of money. However, it’s still not enough to convince Herb that this gig isn’t a scam. Herb demands to know how Charles can afford to pay for this concert. And that’s when Charles tells Herb that he’s a retired nurse who won the lottery twice. Charles show Herb the proof that Charles is telling the truth.
As already revealed in the movie’s trailer, Charles has yet another big surprise for Herb: Nell arrives on Wallis Island too. And she’s not alone: She’s brought her easygoing American husband Michael (played Akemnji Ndifornyen) with her. And that’s how Herb finds out that Nell was hired by Charles to perform at a McGwyer Mortimer reunion concert. Herb is too embarrassed to admit that he didn’t know, so he pretends to Nell that he knew all along.
The rest of “The Ballad of Wallis Island” shows the uncomfortable tensions and surprising developments that happen during this sensitive reunion. Herb has unresolved feelings for Nell. But does she feel the same way? After the McGwyer Mortimer breakup, Nell quit the music business and now lives with Michael in Portland, Oregon, where she has a small business making chutney. Will this reunion with Herb reignite Nell’s passion for making music?
Those questions are answered in the movie, which has a subplot about bachelor Charles being attracted to Amanda, but he’s too shy to do anything about it. Charles is the comic relief in the movie, but he’s not made to look like a total buffoon. Charles is very aware that he’s a goofy dork and cheerfully accepts it. “The Ballad of Wallis Island” invites viewers to laugh with Charles more than laugh at him. And just like Herb, Charles is lonely and having trouble letting go of a past heartbreak, which is revealed in the movie.
“The Ballad of Wallis Island” is exceptional in how it sneaks up on viewers and tells a story that doesn’t necessarily go where most people might think it will go. The acting performances are wonderful, but they’re not the type of “look at me” showcases that will be awards bait. As for the songs in the movie, they are pleasant and catchy but not outstanding. The real magic is in the relationships between these very believable characters, who have different ways of learning about an art that’s different from music—the art of gracefully letting go of the past in order to move on in the present.
Focus Features will release “The Ballad of Wallis Island” in select U.S. cinemas on March 28, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on April 18, 2025.