‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ review: No fan is an island | Sundance 2025

Directed by James Griffiths, The Ballad of Wallis Island is a pitch-perfect tale of music, misfits, and one fan’s dream concert.

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Oh, folk yes. The Ballad of Wallis Island is an absolute jam—a movie that tugs at your heartstrings, tickles your funny bone, and hits all the right notes in the key of delightful absurdity. Directed with endless warmth, wit, and whimsy by James Griffiths, this is a cinematic sea shanty about misfits, music, and the scruffy relationships that define us. It’s also the funniest movie I’ve seen in ages, and that’s not bassless hyperbole. Anchored by Tim Key’s lovably eccentric Charles, a lottery-winning recluse with a penchant for halibut and heartfelt folk music, the film takes us on a stormy, wacky, and deeply touching journey with plenty of John Carney-esque refrain.

Charles is the kind of character who makes you laugh with him, at him, and sometimes just shake your head in baffled admiration. Key brings an endearing mix of innocence and mania to his portrayal. And from the moment he awkwardly greets Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) on the island’s deserted shore, you know you’re in for a banger of a time. Charles’s dream is simple—get McGwyer Mortimer, the folk duo he’s idolized for years, to reunite for a private concert. Simple, that is, until you factor in McGwyer’s prickly ego, Mortimer’s (Carey Mulligan) disdain for her former partner, and her bird-watching husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen), who tags along for good measure. Toss in a seaside payphone, a mansion that looks like it might collapse under the weight of its own quirks, and a batch of suspiciously chunky chutney, and you’ve a recipe for comedic chaos.

The first act gleefully sets the stage for an escalating series of mishaps. Herb, whose pop-rock career has spiraled into increasingly soulless “collabs,” arrives on the island exuding skepticism and disdain. His disbelief only grows when Charles insists he stay in his “hotel,” which turns out to be his dilapidated mansion. It’s clear that Charles isn’t just a fan. He’s someone who’s poured his soul into this dream, however absurd it may sound to everyone else.

But the film’s melody truly starts going when Nell arrives. Mulligan’s portrayal is a masterclass in emotional complexity, balancing Nell’s guarded vulnerability with flashes of biting wit. The chemistry between Mulligan and Basden is electric without being romantic(ish). Particularly in a hilariously tense rehearsal scene where their attempts to harmonize devolve into passive-aggressive digs about who wrote the chorus of their most famous song. Their dynamic—equal parts unresolved tension and lingering affection—anchors the film’s emotional stakes. Making the will-play-won’t-play concert feel like so much more than just a performance.

Griffiths’s direction is both jolly and purposeful, using the windswept Welsh coast to emphasize the characters’ isolation and rocky turbulence. The film’s visual palette of muted blues and greens, punctuated by pops of color (like Herb’s garish cardigan), mirrors the story’s playful tonal shifts. Cinematographer G. Magni Ágústsson (The Walking Dead: World Beyond) deserves credit for making the island itself feel beautiful, unpredictable, and slightly unhinged, much like Charles.

The music, composed with echoes of Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell, is as much a song credit as the humans on screen, providing a soulful soundtrack that is never unwelcome. By the time the day of the climactic concert rolls around, you’ll trade tears of laughter for the other kind. Only to go right back to chuckling without missing a beat.

If there’s a throughline to The Ballad of Wallis Island, it’s the idea that imperfection is where life happens. Whether it’s Charles fumbling through social interactions, Herb wrestling with his artistic compromises, or Nell navigating her complicated past, the film revels in the beauty of the messy, the awkward, and the feeling of being drenched in your own clothes.

At its heart, The Ballad of Wallis Island is a story about passion—for music, for connection, and for growing up. Even when you’re an adult. It’s hilarious without being mean-spirited, poignant without being maudlin, and wholly crowd pleasing. By the end, I felt like I’d been to a concert, therapy session, and comedy show all at once. In other words, it’s a film well worth singing its praises.

The Ballad of Wallis Island had its world premiere at the Sundance 2025 Film Festival. Find more of our Sundance 2025 coverage here.