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.
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