⭐️⭐️ (2 out of 5 stars)
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Directed by James Griffith
Written by Tom Basden, Tim Key
Starring Tom Basden, Tim Key, Carey Mulligan
Release Date March 28th, 2025
Tom Basden and Tim Key in The Balland of Wallis Island (Focus Features)
A Great Premise… So Why Doesn’t It Work?
The Ballad of Wallis Island was a personal disappointment for me. On paper, everything here should work: two once-romantic musicians forced back together years after their messy split, a remote island, eccentric characters, buried emotions, and the promise of heartfelt music.
The title alone hints at a quirky, remote locale with room for mystery and romance. So what happened?
Tim Key is Charles in The Ballad of Wallis Island
The Setup: A Reunion No One Asked For
Directed by James Griffith from a screenplay by Tom Basden and Tim Key, The Ballad of Wallis Island stars Basden as Herb McGwyer, formerly half of the beloved duo McGwyer and Mortimer. Herb thinks he’s landed a lucrative concert booking when Charles Heath (Tim Key), an uber-wealthy “promoter,” offers him a staggering amount of money to play a show on the barely inhabited Wallis Island.
Once Herb arrives, however, the situation goes sideways. The island has one shop, one homeowner, and no actual audience—because Charles isn’t a promoter at all. He’s just an eccentric super-fan who wants a private McGwyer and Mortimer reunion, blissfully unaware (or uncaring) about their bitter breakup.
Herb understandably wants to bail, but the weather—and the stacks of cash Charles keeps lying around—tempt him to linger. And then comes the real surprise.
Tim Key and Tom Basden in The Ballad of Wallis Island
Carey Mulligan Arrives and the Movie Finally Breathes
Another boat arrives carrying Herb’s ex-partner and ex-lover, Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), along with her new husband, Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyan). Charles has engineered an intimate reunion concert for an audience of one.
The short film this was based on, created by Basden and Key in 2007, apparently worked in a more compact format. Stretched to feature length, however, the story feels thin. The characters never deepen, and the film leans too heavily on quirkiness without grounding anything emotionally.
Basden’s Herb is egotistical and perpetually irritated. Key’s Charles is the kind of obliviously “cute” eccentric the movie expects us to love simply because he’s odd. He never grows, never changes, and never recognizes the emotional chaos he’s caused.
Then Carey Mulligan arrives—and the difference is night and day. She brings warmth, emotional intelligence, and a sense of reality the film desperately needs. Her presence lifts every scene she’s in, and it’s hard not to wish the movie followed her instead.
Carey Mullgan and Tom Basden in The Ballad of Wallis Island (Focus Features)
Missed Opportunities and One-Note Characters
The film’s biggest issue is simple: the two leads feel one-note, and the movie seems content to leave them that way. Mulligan’s character should have been the bridge that brings nuance and humanity to Herb and Charles, but the script gives her far too little time.
She feels like an addition—maybe even an afterthought—to a story built around the creators’ earlier short film. And that’s a shame, because the musical moments, while far from Once, clearly a key influence, hint at something warmer and more affecting than what the movie delivers.
Tom Basden The Ballad of Wallis Island (Focus Features)
Final Thoughts
The Ballad of Wallis Island isn’t a disaster—it’s just deeply misconceived. The premise had enormous potential, the music is pleasant enough, and Carey Mulligan is terrific. But the movie sinks under the weight of characters who never grow, quirks that never charm, and a story that never figures out what it wants to be.
Mulligan gives the film its best moments. Unfortunately, she’s not in it nearly enough to save it.
Tags
Ballad of Wallis Island, Carey Mulligan, Tom Basden, Tim Key, James Griffith, movie review, 2025 movies, new film releases, romantic drama, indie film, Vocal review, film criticism
