In 2007, director James Griffiths (Cuban Fury) and co-writers/co-stars Tom Basden (Plebs: Soldiers of Rome) and Tim Key (Wonderdate) released their short The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. The trio has been working since to adapting it into a feature. The completed project, now titled The Ballad of Wallis Island, premiered at Sundance 2025 before a brief theatrical run in March via Focus Features, and is now available on Peacock, physical formats, and digital formats. So, if you’re in the mood for something beautifully melancholic, travel no further than Wallis Island. It’s a charming, slightly-musical dramedy exploring love, loss, regret, and the lengths one will go to recapture a forgotten spark.
L-R: Tim Key as Charles Heath and Tom Basden as Herb McGwyer in THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND. Photo courtesy of Focus Features.
Lottery winner Charles Heath (Key) is a massive fan of folk pop band McGwyer Mortimer, a two-piece that split up close to a decade ago, and decides to hire them to play a concert on the remote Wallis Island. Needing funding for his upcoming solo album, Herb McGwyer (Baseden) agrees to the gig, unaware of two significant things: this is going to be the most private performance he’s performed and Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan) is coming, too. Once the shock wears off, both Herb and Nell settle in to prepare for the show, that musical inspiration they’d both felt which had been tempered by time and expectation reigniting in them both.
What follows is a review based on a Blu-ray retail copy provided by Allied Vaughn Entertainment.
Admittedly, expectations are a terrible thing that bring with them tremendous baggage when preparing to watch something. Doesn’t matter if one has seen a trailer (selected imagery and purposeful obfuscation of details to create a precise intent) or not, one can still conjure up what they think a film is going to be based on the limited knowledge one has. Knowing that the title evokes songwriting tales like Once (2007) or Begin Again (2013), that Sally Sparrow herself (Mulligan) is cast as one half of the musical duo, and that the narrative was shot on location in Wales, leads one to easily conjure a tale of romance, at least rekindled, and that is not what The Ballad of Wallis Island is. At least, not rekindled in the way one expects. To that end, there’s much grappling going on with how to wrest what-is from expectations and the truth is, what-is is far more mature and natural than any musical rom-dramedy might be. It doesn’t go for the easy fix amid countless rom-com-y setups or affectations. The film itself never lies, placing the onus of the narrative on the relationship between Charles and Herb, the duo on a parallel journey of discovery and healing whose path goes through Nell, albeit in decidedly different ways. For Charles, it’s what the music of McGwyer Mortimer means as a fan, most specifically, his deceased wife. The script doesn’t spend as much time making the details the point, but those who have patience to deal with the loquacious Charles are able to piece together the connection between the band, Charles’s fortunes, and his loneliness via the tidbits we pick up — though a bit like sifting sand for flakes of gold. If you’re able to find the flakes and complete (totally or partially) the picture, one understands the release Charles feels when the concert occurs. Likewise, we come to understand Herb’s trajectory as well and how Charles’ influence is the only one which can shift it from the mistakes that which brought him to this point in his life. Unfortunately, Mulligan is comparatively barely in the film, even if her presence is felt throughout. The actor is more than up for the task and is, gratefully, positioned as more than an ideal or figment, given space (small as it is) to be a whole person confronted with two men who view her through a specific musical lens. Through small moments, catching Nell writing in a notebook, for instance, we’re able to see who she is versus who people (Charles and Herb) presume she is. Between these minor touches and Mulligan’s graceful performance, Nell transforms out of the archetype and into reality.
The best thing about the film is how it presents the island. It’s shown to be a place that functions outside of the perspectives of the core characters and appears magical without losing the foothold in reality by way of the quite lovely cinematography from G. Magni Ágústsson (The Last Winter; Doctor Who: Deep Breath). None of the side characters, like Sian Clifford’s (Fleabag) shop owner Amanda, feel like they’re waiting around for someone to buy something and the way that Clifford plays Amanda’s ignorance to modern conventions (how to dry out a cell phone or what exactly a peanut butter cup is) never makes her a rube, even if played for laughs. Likewise, Ágústsson’s cinematography captures the island as it is, filled with lush greenery and beautiful sunsets, a healthy vision to support the narrative’s general thematic aspirations of rebirth. Of course, it’s ok if you miss some of this due to Charles’s nonstop talking, but, if you’re able to get through what’s a mix of comedic scripting and a demonstration of the character’s desperation of company, the location representing Wallis Island is not only majestic, it truly feels like a place that exists for all and not just for Charles and Herb.
One of the most disappointing aspects of this release is that there’s not a single bonus feature included. No bloopers (of which there must have been many), no look at the making of the film, no exploration of the few songs we get to hear (including the titular ballad), and no commentary track from Griffiths, Basden, and Key (at minimum) about the process of expanding the original short into a feature. It’s not a rare feat to have a feature built out of a short, but there’s still so much that an engaged audience can learn about the process which would only enrich the viewing experience. On the bright side, because the physical edition was made using a BD50 disc, meaning that it’s a dual-layer disc that can hold 50 GB of data, and with no bonus features to speak of, the visual presentation is given all the space it needs without having to face additional compression.
L-R: Carey Mulligan as Nell Mortimer and Tom Basden as Herb McGwyer in THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND. Photo courtesy of Focus Features.
If one can orient themselves properly, removing expectation along the way, The Ballad of Wallis Island is an absolute crowd-pleaser. It’s sweet, charming, frequently funny, and the songs, along with the brief interludes that they provide, do draw out a desire to hear a full McGwyer Mortimer album. The script by Basden and Kay does walk the line between maudlin and saccharine, often on a razor’s edge, making us struggle to root for anyone other than Nell, but, ultimately, it sticks the landing. We may not make our own reservations to return to Wallis Island, but we certainly won’t regret the visit.
No bonus features included with this release.
Available on VOD and digital May 6th, 2025.
Available on Peacock June 6th, 2025.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD June 6th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Universal Pictures Home Entertainment The Ballad of Wallis Island webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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