The Ballad Of Wallis Island Review: This Musical Dramedy Is A Cinematic Warm Hug That I Didn't Know I Needed

If you’re a fan of the horror genre, you may get the wrong impression watching the first act of director James Griffiths’ The Ballad Of Wallis Island. After all, the set up for the plot is that a wealthy oddball lures his favorite musician to an isolated island for a performance – leaving out some very important details in the invitation about his intentions. One would really only need to add a more sinister score to back the early story developments in order to sell audiences on the idea that the protagonist is in serious, potentially mortal danger.

But The Ballad Of Wallis Island isn’t a horror movie. In actuality, it’s as far from a horror movie as you can really get. Instead of trying to scare or haunt, it’s the cinematic equivalent of a sweet hug from a good friend trying to boost your mood when you’re feeling down. It’s beautiful, funny, and emotional without feeling overly sentimental or saccharine, and it has a special message to deliver about finding closure with your past and discovering and understanding your future.

Tom Basden, who co-wrote the film, stars as Herb McGwyer – a musician ready to embark on a new era of his career as a solo artist who gets invited to the remote Wallis Island at the behest of a strange lotto winner named Charles Heath (Tim Key, the movie’s other co-writer). Herb is being paid $500,000 to play an exclusive show, but there are two key parts of the plan about which he is kept in the dark: the only person in the audience will be Charles, and the host has also invited Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), Herb’s ex-music partner and ex-significant other.

With lingering romantic feelings still very much a thing and Nell bringing along her husband (Akemnji Ndifornyen), Herb’s situation is the epitome of awkward, but his anxiety is quashed when he understands Nell knew that he was going to be on the island and is excited for the gig. The artists rehearsing together and Charles regaling them with stories about his deceased wife’s love of McGwyer Mortimer’s music cause old emotions to rise to the surface for everyone, but how they are handled ends up instigating conflict.

The corner of the world created in The Ballad Of Wallis Island is utterly delightful.

Given the horror movie-esque paranoia instigated by the plot setup, I think it’s fair to call The Ballad Of Wallis Island literally disarming, as hard feelings slip away amid the comical, musical drama. The isolation of the titular setting renders it as a funny alien planet with a healthy detachment from modernity, and there are sweet little quirks abound that ever-liven the atmosphere – from the faucet in Herb’s room that never stops running, to the hefty bag of coins that he has to lug around so that he can contact the outside world via payphone (there’s a great running gag about Herb’s mobile phone being waterlogged upon his arrival and confusion about how rice could be a solution to the problem).

Amplifying the warm energy that the film so effortlessly delivers is a tremendous soundtrack. The ace up the sleeve of The Ballad Of Wallis Island is its creation of McGwyer Mortimer, as the movie makes the band feel real in a multitude of ways. Part of this is that the original folk-rock music is lovely and revelatory about the emotions of the fictional artists who have written it; part of it is the tremendous chemistry between Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan (the latter having previously demonstrated a gift for folk music in Inside Llewyn Davis); and part of it is the effective sell of the duo’s in-world significance – including the passion demonstrated by Charles the super fan and a tremendous job by props and production design departments for the creation of concert posters, tickets, albums and more.

Amid the sweetness and great music, The Ballad Of Wallis Island also has something deep to say.

Gentle and nice as the film is (with the extreme pleasantness of Tim Key’s Charles and his genuine enthusiasm proving to be infectious among the ensemble), but it has effective messaging about making peace with the parts of your life that have ended and finding ways to move forward. All three of the main characters think that they have moved into new chapters of their respective lives, but the reunion of McGwyer Mortimer exposes that loss remains an important part of their lives: Herb may have his solo career and Nell may say her career in music is over, but their hearts are still very much in their work together, and Charles may try to live blissfully as an introvert, but he is still very much in pain after the death of his wife and missing true human connection.

Perhaps best of all in all this drama is that The Ballad Of Wallis Island takes story threads and traces them to unexpected places (and the one thread that goes into an expected directed is delightful nonetheless).

While the modern cinematic landscape is always looking for certain kinds of extremes – thrills, scares, excitement, twists, hysterics and outrage – The Ballad Of Wallis Island offers a different kind of experience, and though there is absolutely nothing wrong with all of those big screen ingredients, it’s nonetheless well-welcome. It’s simple and charming while having a universal message to share along with some fantastic original music, and I would challenge even the coarsest cynic to not be enchanted.