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The Ballad of Wallis Island

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The Ballad of Wallis Island
Promotional poster
Directed byJames Griffiths
Screenplay byTom Basden
Tim Key
Based onThe One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island
by Tom Basden
Tim Key
Produced byRupert Majendie
Starring
CinematographyG. Magni Ágústsson
Edited byQuin Williams
Music byAdem Ilhan
Production
company
Distributed byFocus Features (United States)
Universal Pictures (international)
Release dates
  • January 25, 2025 (2025-01-25) (Sundance)
  • March 28, 2025 (2025-03-28) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.4 million[1][2]

The Ballad of Wallis Island is a 2025 British comedy film directed by James Griffiths, produced by Rupert Majendie, and starring Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Carey Mulligan. Basden and Key co-wrote the film's screenplay. The film is based on the 2007 short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, which Griffiths also directed and Basden and Key also co-wrote.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2025, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on March 28, 2025, by Focus Features, and has received acclaim from critics.

Plot

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Musician Herb McGwyer — one half of former folk duo McGwyer Mortimer — arrives on the remote but picturesque Wallis Island for a performance. He is welcomed by Charles, an awkward but enthusiastic fan who has arranged the show for "less than a hundred" people. Brought to stay at Charles' home, Herb is presented with his £500,000 fee as a suitcase of cash, and fends off questions about his professional and romantic breakup with his former collaborator, Nell Mortimer.

Herb's waterlogged phone forces him to use the payphone at the local shop, run by Amanda, and Charles reveals the makeshift "venue" on the beach, admitting he is the show's sole audience. Having won the lottery, Charles spent his winnings traveling the world with his late wife Marie, who loved McGwyer Mortimer, then won again and retired to the island. Herb phones his manager, having decided to take the gig in order to finance a new album, but is surprised by the arrival of Nell and her American husband, Michael.

Charles is thrilled to have reunited McGwyer Mortimer for the first time in years, but old tensions flare between Herb, whose solo career has taken a decidely "commercial" direction, and Nell, who retired from music to Portland, Oregon, and discovers Charles is paying her less. Herb attempts to leave in the morning, but stays after Michael confides in him that they need the money.

Charles' souvenirs include Herb's old guitar, and what turns out to be a counterfeit lock of Nell's hair, and Michael leaves for a birdwatching tour on the far side of the island. Discovering more mementos, Herb and Nell reconnect as they rehearse their old music for a deeply moved Charles. Playing tennis with Herb, Charles insists there is still chemistry between him and Nell, while Herb urges him to ask out Amanda.

Herb and Nell bring Charles to spend a joyful "Seaman's Day" on the beach, writing wishes on sky lanterns and releasing them at sunset. Staying up to sing together, Herb tells Nell he is still in love with her, but she reveals she is pregnant and accuses him of fixating on their past. Leaving a real lock of her hair for an understanding Charles, who urges her to continue writing music, Nell departs.

Lashing out at Charles, Herb packs his things, including his old guitar, and storms off in the rain. He leaves his bags with Amanda, who has learned about his music from her son, but returns to the house. Michael arrives in the morning to collect the money, having been told by Charles the performance already happened, but tells Herb off for his pursuit of Nell and the state of his musical career.

When a despondent Herb swims to retrieve one of the lanterns, Charles assumes he has thrown himself into the sea and wades in to save him, but Herb rescues Charles instead. Having arranged the show for the fifth anniversary of Marie's death, Charles accepts that forcing a reunion was a mistake and offers to pay Herb anyway. The lantern is Charles' loving message to Marie, inspiring Herb to invite Amanda to the show on Charles' behalf. They arrive on the beach, where Herb performs for them into the night, dedicating a final song to Marie.

The next day, Herb thanks Charles as they part ways, hugging him goodbye. At home, Charles discovers that Herb left the money and his guitar, signed with his real name — "Your biggest fan, Chris Pinner" — and Amanda arrives for a game of tennis. As the credits play, Chris, no longer using his stage name, records a new song, "The Ballad of Wallis Island".

Cast

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Production

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The project began as a short film Key and Basden made with James Griffiths and produced by Moxie Pictures. The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island won best short film at The Edinburgh International Film Festival and was nominated for the 2008 BAFTA Award for Best Short Film.[3][4][5]

The feature film, initially entitled One For the Money, had Rupert Majendie as producer with Bankside Films representing sales.[6] Focus Features subsequently acquired worldwide rights to the project, which was later retitled The Ballad of Wallis Island, with Universal Pictures handling the international release on its behalf.[7]

Principal photography was scheduled for Wales in 2023.[8][9][10]

Release

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The Ballad of Wallis Island premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2025, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on March 28, 2025.[11][12]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 75 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Ballad of Wallis Island hums along a sweet melody without lapsing into outright sentimentality, mining a great deal of warmth from its humble premise."[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[14]

Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "The director James Griffith's The Ballad of Wallis Island is a sublime, adorable comedy whose roots can be traced to a short Griffith made eighteen years ago."[15] Critic Bob Mondello reviewed the film favourably, writing for NPR that it is "at once an odd-couple bromance, a quite respectable musical outing, and a nostalgic look at the memories we all lock up in the harmonies in our heads – the ones we carry with us through life."[16]

References

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  1. ^ "The Ballad of Wallis Island – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  2. ^ "The Ballad of Wallis Island". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  3. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 4, 2023). "Carey Mulligan, Tom Basden & Tim Key To Star In Comedy 'One For The Money' For Steve Coogan's Baby Cow & Bankside Films — Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  4. ^ 2008 Bafta Short Films Awards
  5. ^ Edinburgh International Film Festival Awards History Archived 1 October 2009 at the Portuguese Web Archive
  6. ^ Booth, Ned (May 4, 2023). "One For The Money': Carey Mulligan, Tom Basden & Tim Key To Star In Upcoming Comedy Based on Basden & Key's BAFTA-Nominated Short". The Playlist. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  7. ^ Yossman, K.J. (April 2, 2024). "Carey Mulligan Comedy 'The Ballad of Wallis Island' Acquired by Focus Features (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  8. ^ Singer, Maya (October 10, 2023). "Carey Mulligan on Going "All In" With Bradley Cooper for Maestro". Vogue. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  9. ^ Kundu, Tamal (July 15, 2023). "Carey Mulligan's 'One for the Money' to Shoot in Wales This Year". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  10. ^ Jones, Alice (June 12, 2023). "Tom Basden on bringing his Met Police satire to the West End". The Times. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  11. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 11, 2024). "Sundance 2025: JLo, Sly Stone, Putin, Ayo Edebiri, André Holland, & Ex-NZ PM Jacinda Ardern Films Among Park City Festival Offerings". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  12. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 16, 2025). "'The Ballad Of Wallis Island': Focus Features Sundance Carey Mulligan Movie Sets Spring Release". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  13. ^ "The Ballad of Wallis Island". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  14. ^ "The Ballad of Wallis Island". Metacritic. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Daniels, Robert (January 2025). "The Ballad of Wallis Island". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  16. ^ Mondello, Bob (March 31, 2025). "A folk legend gets a reunion he didn't sign up for in this melancholy charmer". NPR. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
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