The Ballad of Wallis Island
The Film
The Ballad of Wallis Island is a 2025 British comedy-drama film directed by James Griffiths, produced by Rupert Majendie, and written by Tim Key and Tom Basden. It is based on their 2007 short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. Basden and Carey Mulligan star as a folk duo who reunite to perform for a wealthy fan (Tim Key) on a remote Welsh island.
It tells the poignant, and sometimes funny, story of a couple reunited after many years, each having gone their separate ways in life, but who still retain a sincere emotional connection.
The Ballad of Wallis Island was released in the United Kingdom on 30th May 2025.
Production
The project began as a short film Key and Basden made with James Griffiths and produced by Moxie Pictures. The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island won best short film at The Edinburgh International Film Festival and was nominated for the 2008 BAFTA Award for Best Short Film. Many lines from the short appear verbatim in the film.
The feature film, initially entitled One For the Money, had Rupert Majendie as producer with Bankside Films representing sales. Focus Features subsequently acquired worldwide rights to the project, which was later retitled The Ballad of Wallis Island, with Universal Pictures handling the international release on its behalf.
Principal photography took place in Wales in 2023, and was completed in 18 days.
Thye film had its UK premiere on 5th March 2025 at the Glasgow Film Festival as the annual ‘Surprise Film’. It was screened on 25th April 2025 as the opening film of the International Film Festival of St Andrews.
The film was released in cinemas across the UK on 30th May 2025
Critical Response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 114 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "The Ballad of Wallis Island hums along a sweet melody without lapsing into outright sentimentality, mining a great deal of warmth from its humble premise."
Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "The director James Griffith's The Ballad of Wallis Island is a sublime, adorable comedy whose roots can be traced to a short Griffith made eighteen years ago."
Critic Bob Mondello reviewed the film favourably, writing for NPR that it is "at once an odd-couple bromance, a quite respectable musical outing, and a nostalgic look at the memories we all lock up in the harmonies in our heads – the ones we carry with us through life."
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Cast
- Tim Key as Charles Heath, an eccentric widower who became a multimillionaire
by winning the lottery twice. His wife, Marie, died five years earlier.
- Tom Basden as Herb McGwyer (stage name) or Chris Pinner (real name).
Once half of the McGwyer Mortimer folk music duo, he embarked on a solo
career after breaking up with his former musical and romantic partner
Nell. He now plays pop music, although his recent releases have been unsuccessful.
- Carey Mulligan as Nell Mortimer, the other half of the former McGwyer
Mortimer duo and Herb's former romantic partner. She retired from music
following their breakup and moved to Portland, Oregon, where she sells
homemade chutney at farmers' markets.
- Akemnji Ndifornyen as Michael, Nell's American husband, who is an avid
birdwatcher.
- Sian Clifford as Amanda, the island's only shopkeeper, who lives above
her shop with her teenage son.