A folk legend gets a reunion he didn’t sign up for in this melancholy charmer
Herb McGwyer is a bit of a folk legend, as he’d be happy to tell anyone who asks at the outset of the melancholy charmer The Ballad of Wallis Island.
So what’s he doing on a tiny boat, headed for an isle off the coast of Wales? Not for a dock on the isle, mind you, just the isle itself – he quite literally washes up on the beach, getting drenched in the process.
“Dame Judi Drenched,” says Charles (Tim Key), the island’s one-man welcoming committee. An affable chatterbox who is relentlessly cheerful, Charles seems to have a dumb joke for every occasion, and a deep knowledge of Herb’s back catalogue, especially the early stuff.
When it becomes clear Charles is also paying for the concert, Herb, played by Tom Basden, starts muttering about not playing private gigs for oil tycoons, and wondering if he really wants to do this gig.
Charles, happily, is not an oil tycoon, he’s a lottery winner. Twice. And this second time, he decided to stage a concert close to home by his favorite singer. Or rather, singers – plural – though he hasn’t mentioned that he’s also flown in Herb’s ex-bandmate/ex-girlfriend (Carey Mulligan), along with her American husband (Akemnji Ndifornyen).
And as if that weren’t awkward enough, there’s the audience. Charles told Herb it would be “less than a hundred.” It’s actually just Charles.
“I’m going to have to get a restraining order,” Herb muses.
Movie patrons may be starting to feel that way too, so it’s good that in James Griffiths’ meandering tale, the getting-ready part definitely has its charms. For the singers of course, who slip right back in their old groove musically, but also for Charles, who can barely contain his glee at having these two on his island. In case there were any doubt, his superfan status is cemented as the singers discover he has one of Herb’s old guitars, and a lock of what he’d been told was Nell’s hair.
“You’ve been scammed,” Nell tells him gently, “but I can hack some off before I go, if you like.”
It’s when Herb and Nell start to harmonize gently, though, that the movie finds its groove emotionally. Actors Basden (who wrote the songs) and Mulligan, who is warm and genuine, make the two singers every bit the in-sync couple Charles remembers. Though Nell is long retired from music, and Herb’s gone on to substantial success since they split up, he realizes that what he had with her was the most satisfying part of his career.
So, it’s nostalgia that bonds them all together – Nell’s missed the music, Herb’s missed Nell, and all that joking has masked what Charles has been missing.
Actors Basden and Key are a longstanding comedy team – The Ballad of Wallis Island expands a short film they made with director Griffiths 18 years ago. But bringing Mulligan into the mix grounds their comic work – her presence deepens it and lets it breathe, blending it with other elements. The result 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.
Transcript:
EYDER PERALTA, HOST:
A singer/songwriter meets his biggest fan and can’t wait to get away in the British comedy “The Ballad Of Wallis Island.” Critic Bob Mondello calls the film a charmer, with an edge of melancholy.
BOB MONDELLO: Herb McGwyer is, as he’ll be happy to tell you, a folk legend. So what’s he doing on a tiny boat headed for an isle off the coast of Wales? Not for a dock on the isle, either.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
TIM KEY: (As Charles) You made it OK?
TOM BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Is there not, like, a harbor?
KEY: (As Charles) It’s sort of nature’s harbor.
MONDELLO: Just the beach.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
KEY: (As Charles) Welcome to Wallis Island.
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Can you take a bag?
KEY: (As Charles) Oh, I’ll grab this.
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Oh, no, no, no. No.
MONDELLO: Well, he was going to have to wade to shore, anyway. Herb’s one-man greeting committee is Charles, an affable chatterbox who is relentlessly cheerful and seems to have a dumb joke for every occasion, including this one.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) I’m drenched.
KEY: (As Charles) You are. Dame Judy. Dame Judy drenched.
MONDELLO: Charles, who’s played by comedian Tim Key, is an odd duck, and as Herb soon realizes, he’ll be hard to get away from.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Can you shut the door?
KEY: (As Charles) Absolutely.
MONDELLO: He closed it, but he’s still inside the room.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) No, I meant…
KEY: (As Charles) Oh, my gosh.
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Yeah.
KEY: (As Charles) I’m so sorry, Herb. I’m not really used to having guests.
MONDELLO: And when it turns out Charles is also the guy who’s paying for the concert, Herb, who’s played by Tom Basden, starts wondering if he really wants to do this gig.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) You a banker? Or oil? It’s oil, isn’t it?
KEY: (As Charles) I’m retired.
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) ‘Cause I’m not playing a private gig for some oil tycoon or whatever.
KEY: (As Charles) Where’s oil come from?
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) I’m, you know, I’m – I’m anticorporate, famously.
KEY: (As Charles) I’m anticorporate. Believe me, I hate bloody – I can’t think of one, but…
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) ‘Cause, you know.
KEY: (As Charles) …Ikea. Bad example.
MONDELLO: Charles is not an oil tycoon. He’s a lottery winner – twice. And the second time, he decided to stage a concert close to home by his favorite singer, or rather singers, though he hasn’t told Herb that. He’s also brought Herb’s ex-bandmate-slash-ex-girlfriend, played by Carey Mulligan…
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
CAREY MULLIGAN: (As Nell Mortimer) You knew I was coming, right?
MONDELLO: And her husband.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
AKEMNJI NDIFORNYEN: (As Michael) I didn’t really listen to your songs back in the day.
MONDELLO: And as if that weren’t awkward enough, there’s the venue.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Where will the audience be? You said there’d be 100.
KEY: (As Charles) I said less than 100.
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Is it just you?
KEY: (As Charles) Yeah.
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Right.
MONDELLO: First, though, there’s the getting ready, and that definitely has its charms…
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer, singing) Sometimes when you sleep…
MONDELLO: For all of them.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
TOM BASDEN AND CAREY MULLIGAN: (As Herb McGwyer and Nell Mortimer, singing) …You look like you’re on the bottom of the sea.
MONDELLO: In rehearsal, reminded of what they had, feelings come flooding back, and not just for the singers but for Charles, too. There’s something all that joking has been masking. And for a bit, they’re a team, sort of.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
KEY: (As Charles) That’s lovely, isn’t it?
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Just take it in, Charles.
KEY: (As Charles) Take it in, drink it in, glug, glug. Water, water, everywhere.
BASDEN: (As Herb McGwyer) Please, can we just watch the sunset?
KEY: (As Charles) Can we just please appreciate this damn sunset?
(LAUGHTER)
BASDEN AND MULLIGAN: (As Herb McGwyer and Nell Mortimer, singing) When the sky is full of stars…
MONDELLO: Though actors Basden and Key are a long-standing comedy team – in fact, “The Ballad Of Wallis Island” expands a short film they made with director James Griffiths 18 years ago – bringing Carey Mulligan into the mix grounds their work here, lets it breathe a bit and blend with other elements into what’s at once an odd couple bromance, a quite respectable musical outing and a nostalgic look at the memories that we all lock up in the harmonies we carry with us through life.
I’m Bob Mondello.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND”)
BASDEN AND MULLIGAN: (As Herb McGwyer and Nell Mortimer, singing) Oh, love. Can you hear me call?
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