The film follows Charles, an eccentric lottery winner who lives alone on a remote island and dreams of getting his favorite musicians, McGwyer Mortimer, back together.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
A well-to-do/successful man with a broken past of sorts is paired off with a quirky, oftentimes annoying sidekick counter opposite in a tale that will inevitably bring them closer together in an unlikely friendship as the latter’s undeniable, offbeat charm forces the former to reflect on their flaws and they both grow by the end, having both learned something when all is said and done. John Candy and Steve Martin. Chris Farley and David Spade. The unlikely buddy comedy has had its hits and its misses, but one thing is certain: it’s nothing new to say the least.
“The Ballad of Wallis Island” is such a story at its core.
We open with Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden), a far-past-his-prime musician who agrees to station himself on an island with the eccentric two-time lottery winner Charles Heath (Tim Key), a superfan of Herb’s previous group McGwyer Mortimer, a folk duo that once consisted of Herb and his former love Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan). You see, Herb is well beyond his most successful days and has found himself in need of money to produce a new album that will hopefully be a return to form from his glory days, albeit minus one partner, and it just so happens that Charles is willing to pay him half a million pounds to perform a concert on his island for “less than one hundred people”. The catch? Charles will actually be the only audience member for this concert and, unbeknownst to Herb at the time, is more interested in the McGwyer Mortimer duo than he is in Mr. McGwyer’s solo work, which means (you guessed it) that Nell has been invited to the island as well.
What follows is a familiar story about a man desperately searching for a way to cling to the past, given the glory it possesses, particularly with hindsight. Herb has found moderate success as a solo musician but at the cost of his proverbial soul, and his reunion with Nell awakens within him the realization that he would like her to rejoin him on his journey, both as a partner in music and love. Naturally, there’s a helping hand from Charles, who would love nothing more than to see this come to fruition.
Everything here is set up for a story we’ve seen played out repeatedly. We’ve seen it all before, nothing new under the sun, blah blah blah. But here’s the kicker, the bit that jolted me with genuine surprise, when thirty or so minutes into the film I realized my own.
It works.
In every conceivable way, it works.
The writing here is safe, and you can probably predict where the story is headed at most turns, but the way the script expertly crafts every characterization makes these characters feel like real people, far more so than most of what you’ll see with this type of story. The longer it goes on, the more you learn and the more you truly grow to care about every person on screen. With a limited cast, there is seldom a tiny role, and everyone feels fleshed out without a single throwaway. It’s easy in little slices of life, like this, to get lost among the decided “mains” and utilize the surrounding characters as human props and background bits to move the story along, but such isn’t the case here. These are real people. You want to see more of them. You want to root for them.
Carey Mulligan is the only actor in the film that I recognized immediately. She is at her best here as the vulnerable Nell, struggling with her own pride and inadequacies, secretly desiring what Herb desires but torn on whether or not he’s genuine in those desires or living in a fantasy of past times. Tom Basden is equally impressive, playing the familiar role of the artist clinging onto fame by the skin of his teeth, a man who has gotten so used to the fame that he’s forgotten what it’s like to be a human being. His instincts have become those of an entitled man who is well above the situation he’s found himself in, but he plays it with such raw vulnerability that you can’t help but love him even at his worst moments.
But it’s Tim Key, as Charles Heath, who steals the show here. In fact, it’s disappointing to discuss him in such a short format as a review, as I feel I could write an entire essay on his portrayal of the new money lottery winner, as awkward as can be, even when he has complete control over every situation involving what money can buy. As the super fan who oftentimes surpasses obsession and grows borderline inappropriate with some of his requests, it would be incredibly easy for a lesser actor to fall victim to turning Charles into a caricature, but Key plays the role with such precision and charm that you have no other choice but to fall in love with him. Key as Charles Heath is the driving point of “The Ballad of Wallis Island.” His charisma is without limit, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a stronger supporting actor performance this year.
What “Wallis Island” lacks in originality, it makes up for in its profundity, taking familiar subject matter and stripping it to its bare bones to create something simple and impactful. It’s true that at its core it is a paint-by-numbers dramedy, but it possesses just enough heartfelt charm to give its subject some fresh life. The dramatic moments are dramatic, the humorous moments will undoubtedly inspire more than just a handful of laughs, and overall, it achieves something that I seldom see achieved; it is a feel-good movie that doesn’t cheapen itself to warm the hearts of its audience.
Overall, while it isn’t perfect, it’s difficult not to fall in love with this film, at least a little bit. The trip to “Wallis Island” is most certainly a trip worth taking. You may not want to leave.
In Theaters Friday, April 4th
