I’m usually a fan of films that focus on some sort of music. Whether it’s composing/conducting or singing/playing music, I tend to gravitate towards that kind of thing. The films of John Carney, for instance, I have been a big fan of. They use music in an interesting and intelligent way. The latest movie that has a similar vibe to those films is The Ballad of Wallis Island, that premiered at this past January’s Sundance Film Festival. This movie premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and was bought by Focus Features. It uses music like you’d expect, as an infusion to the main story going on in the film. It doesn’t do it as well as I’d hoped, but the main plot made up for the lack of quality music.

Charles (Tim Key)  is a man who lives on an island off the coast of Wales. He came into a windfall of money in the past, so he decided to use that money to woo his favorite music artists, a British folk duo McGwyer & Mortimer (Carey Mulligan, Tom Basden) to his Island to reunite to do a performance together. Little do they know that this man is planning a reunion between the pair, who were once romantically linked to each other. This becomes a problem for the pair and eventually causes issues for Key’s character moving forward in the plot of the film.

This movie is mainly a comedy where one character is an oddball doing and saying things that are out of the ordinary. This leads to awkward conversations and miscommunication from home towards the others on the island. It made for a lot of laughter on Mt end of things. I wasn’t familiar with the actor Tim Key before seeing him in this film, but he won me over with his shyness and strange demeanor. This was obviously part of his character, but instead of strangling him like I wanted to at the beginning of the movie, I came to love him by the end. He was not what I was expecting from this character, but I needed the laughter in my life at this time. He was what the doctor ordered.

Overall, the rest of the cast was fine. Carey Mulligan is the biggest known star by American standards, and she was in about half the film. It was more of a buddy movie with the Key and Baddrn characters. They had a lot of banter opposite each other. Basden had some interesting phone calls from landlines because his phone kept falling in water, so it didn’t work. That was a pretty funny bit that made for some hilarious moments. Even though this was a comedy, there were some heartfelt moments that gave me pause. There is a sympathy factor to the story that makes the film worthwhile watching. The supporting cast helped that as well.

The location of this island was like a character in the story. It played a role as part of the traveling aspect along with the boats that came and went at various times. Nobody knew when. The island had paths that took the actors to and from the various locations.  A house they most of them stayed at and a store that they either shopped at or made phone calls from. These areas led to good conversations, and the dialogue was integral to the plot. I learned a lot about the characters, their back stories, and their motivations for being on the island. The seashore was beautiful, and so were the overhead shots and vista’s the director provided for the viewers to see.

Ultimately, this is a story of loneliness and despair on multiple levels. It just shows money can’t buy everything, and happiness is fading like the wind on the ocean. The Key character was a sad man who searched for some friendship in an odd way. He thought that by connecting to people loved because of their music and his past love, he would find closure in his own life, but it didn’t work out that way. Having been lonely myself, I can understand trying to find some solace in life. Money sure would help me out, though. If nothing else, this film shows you have to be happy with yourself before you can try to make others happy. Find your happy place no matter what, who or where it is, and I guarantee you’ll feel better in the end.

The Ballad of Wallis Island is a bittersweet movie about difficult topics to deal with. This man has to be happy with himself before trying to make others happy. In the end, Key kept me entertained by his awkward humor and banter opposite Basden.  He was a revelation for me. I hope to see him again in many more movies down the road. He was the medicine I sorely needed in my life right now. That medicine was laughter. Overall, the cast was good, but he stole the show for me. James Griffiths did a great job directing this comedy, but it was the screenplay by Key and Basden that made this film shine. And their performances.  This film had the feel of a John Carney film but was different in some ways. The music wasn’t the key aspect of the story. It was the relationship that formed. I definitely recommend this to anybody who likes little indie comedies.

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen