It’s never a bad time for a film like “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” but at the moment it feels like a much-needed balm. Modest in scope and made with the lightest of touch, not unlike the lovely folk songs that populate its soundtrack, it’s also deceptively powerful: A gentle ode to moving on, in quirky packaging.
This is a movie about a kind, chatty man named Charles (Tim Key) who invites his favorite folk band to play a concert on the remote island where he lives alone in a massive old home. Charles is a semi-recluse only by circumstance: He’s holed himself up in this home full of eccentric acquisitions over the years after a lucky lottery win (there’s another punchline there, but I won’t spoil it).
Wallis Island, though beautiful and serene, with white cliffs and rocky shores (it was shot in Wales), is not the kind of place where there’s a lot of socializing, but there is quite a bit of time for reflection, hobbies and, probably, talking to oneself at length. And Charles’s greatest passion is McGwyer Mortimer (Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan ), a once popular folk group who have not been together, professionally or romantically, for almost a decade.
That this is to be a reunion is terrible news for Herb McGwyer (Basden), who has made a name for himself as a solo artist and who arrives first, already aggrieved about the decisions that have led him here. All he seems to know is that it’s a small gig that will get him a cool half million pounds, which will effectively finance his next album. Everything else about this journey to Wallis Island comes as an unwelcome surprise, starting with the fact that there’s no dock, no car, no hotel and he’s stuck as Charles’ houseguest.
The owner of the small general store (Sian Clifford, always a welcome presence) does not even carry rice, which Herb needs to dry out his water damaged phone. That’s a special order. And then Nell Mortimer (Mulligan) arrives, new husband, Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen) in tow. Herb, faced now with his ex, has no phone and no escape plan: The one man who ferries people to and from the main island doesn’t even keep a reliable schedule (the boat times are listed with a disclaimer: “sometimes”).
Nell, meanwhile, is ready to perform with her old beau. She needs the money, but has also moved on with her life — making chutney in the Pacific Northwest, and seems to be in a good place. Herb remains the put-upon artist, a ball of childish anxiety and ego who has since sold out and seems to regret how things transpired with Nell so many years ago. And then there’s Charles who is simply elated to be in the presence of these two. It’s a fun group of somewhat conflicting interests to mash together.
Once the bickering subsides, Nell and Herb will get to reconnect over their shared music, though someone will of course take the wrong message from it. And it’s all a delight to watch: Mulligan and Basden are sublime together, naturally exuding the awkward chemistry of artist exes, with Key as the adorable comedic foil. Basden and Key actually co-wrote the script, based on a short film they and director James Griffiths made 18 years ago.
It’s still early days for 2025 movie releases, and far too soon to be making any reasonable declarations about how something is going to stack up with the rest of them by December. But this is a special one for any year.
“The Ballad of Wallis Island” is the kind movie that makes it all look so easy — filmmaking, performance, mood, chemistry. It’s not going to dominate any cultural conversations, and probably won’t go the awards route, but it’ll touch your soul if you let it. Like “Juliet, Naked” from several years ago, a kind of spiritual and tonal sibling, it’s an easy one to recommend to just about anyone.
“The Ballad of Wallis Island,” a Focus Features release in theaters Friday is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for “some language and smoking.” Running time: 99 minutes. Four stars out of four.
