The Ballad of Wallis Island

A film set on an island off the British coast. Charles lives there alone. He has won the lottery twice, has money, and talks constantly; he adds a joke to the end of every sentence and gives the other person no turn. He invites a musician to the island. Herb was half of a duo years ago; the duo broke up and he has made solo albums ever since, less loved than what came before. Herb arrives and learns the concert is private: the audience is one person. Then a second person arrives. Charles has invited the other half as well and told Nell nothing about it, nor Herb. From there the film takes place between three people. The two have not spoken for years, there was a relationship between them, and Nell has come with her husband. What the narrative is interested in is not music but grief: why Charles is alone on the island is explained late, and the reason for all his insistence is there. The tone starts as comedy and shifts slowly; the jokes continue while what sits under them grows heavier. The songs were written inside the film and are played live. Tim Key plays Charles, Tom Basden plays Herb and Carey Mulligan plays Nell. The screenplay is by Key and Basden; the film was expanded from their own short. James Griffiths directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes quiet British comedy and small-cast narratives with music. Who it is not for: anyone waiting for incident; the film is almost entirely conversation and the pace is very slow.