The Ballad of Wallis Island is a big hug of a movie
"Would you like to hear a story about a man who's tired of life?"
So begins a movie that will put a song in your heart - anyone who loves Local Hero, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and The Holdovers needs to pitch up on Wallis Island.
It's the home of Charles Heath (Tim Key), an endearitating oddball who's about to have the ultimate fanboy experience.
By means best kept undisclosed, Charles has managed to reunite his favourite group, the folk duo McGywer and Mortimer, for a gig on his doorstep.
The first to arrive is Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden), a gifted singer-songwriter who has taken the soup of chart collaborations and - worse - also suffers from a chronic case of Lead Singer's Disease.
Then Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan) shows up, the perfect foil for Herb's high maintenance who left music behind after their split and is now happily married to in-tow husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen).
As Charles does his ham-fisted best to make his guests feel at home, aided amidst the rolling disasters by local shopkeeper Amanda (Sian Clifford), we get a backstage pass to life in all its messiness.
There's a gorgeous backstory here for reel romantics that adds to the magic on screen. Eighteen years ago, co-stars and co-writers Basden and Key and director James Griffiths released a BAFTA-nominated short called The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. Eventually, Basden and Key finally got around to writing a full comedy-drama in the lockdown era; they brought Mulligan's character into the mix, and along with the returning Griffiths have made a better film than they would've done if the cameras had started rolling in 2009.
There's something about the onslaught of time, the aging of the central trio, and, indeed, yourself that makes the quirks, laughs, and misty-eyed moments of The Ballad of Wallis Island all the more powerful in the present day. The performances are brilliant; it has the best of British humour mixed with lovely songs, and it also says a lot about making sense of the world and ourselves. As for the ending, well, just you wait...
If there's a more uplifting cinema experience between now and Christmas, 2025 will be one for the books. See you in the foyer.
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