The film The Ballad of Wallis Island was screened at the Sundance Film Festival followed by the SXSW Film & Television Festival this past month. When a person hears talk about “getting the band together,” the question comes up about how many people in the band. James Griffiths created a short film almost two decades ago, The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, and it serves as the basis of the screenplay by Tom Basden and Tim Key that he directs. As the audience soon learns, there isn’t a big band arriving to play on the island, in fact, there are not many residents living on the island either.
Charles (Key, TV’s Mid Morning Matters) has hired folk musician Herb McGwyer (Basden) to play a gig, boasting about how huge a fan he is. Charles is friendly, yet awkward, which results in him sounding like a constant chatter box. This quickly gets on Herb’s nerves, so imagine his surprise when he finds he does not have a hotel room, but a room inside Charles “lodge” (large home).
The dream gig for Charles includes also hiring Herb’s former singing partner and ex-lover, Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan). Charles “forgot” to tell Herb he hired both for the performance, so imagine how awkward that is when she is arriving on the island with her husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen). They both want to play and earn money, so they give their rehearsals a shot, but ultimately the old issues and still current issues.
Michael is loving and patient to give the two musicians the space they need to rehearse, but he does not shy away from speaking his mind to Herb before he leaves the island. There is a local shopkeeper, Amanda (Sian Clifford), that Charles talks to on occasion but hasn’t moved past his own grief to start a more friendly relationship with her. Although she may not have a prominent role in the film, she does have good dialogue in her role that makes her interesting. It would have been good to have a bit more of her background as we learn of the other characters.
The lighting and the music for the beachside performance is shot beautifully, as other scenes from higher ground in the daytime. The cinematography is by G Magni Agustsson. Production design: Alexandra Toomey, Editing: Quin Williams, Music: Adem Ilhan, with songs by Tom Basden.
The film is now opening in Austin theaters as of April 3, 2025.
Source: Focus Features
###