“We’re putting the band back together!’ Words spoken by many a late night get-together, the dream of every out of work tour manager, and the entire premise for the classic film The Blues Brothers. The crucial difference between most ill- thought out schemes and the hilarious story in The Ballad of Wallace Island, is that in most cases the idea is proposed by someone in the band, rather than by an obsessive super-fan who’s living on a remote island with too much time and money on their hands.
Shot in just 18 days primarily in and around Carmarthenshire, Wales, this delightful film follows international music superstar Herb McGwyer, played by Tom Basden, who is in need of cash and agrees to do a private gig on a remote island. After wading through the sea to get to the shore as there is no dock, and checking into the hotel which turns out to be the home of eccentric millionaire Charles, played by Tim Key, it slowly dawns on Herb that not only is the audience just Charles, but he’s been set up to do a reunion show for the band that made him famous – McGwyer Mortimer – and his old girlfriend and the other half of the band Nell, played by Carey Mulligan is on the way. Oh, and she’s bringing her husband Michael, played by Akemnji Ndifornyen, with her.
Directed by James Griffiths
Screenplay By Tom Basden & Tim Key
Produced by Rupert Majendie
Executive Producers Carey Mulligan, Tom Basden, Tim Key, James Griffiths, Sarah Monteith, Laurence Brown, Stephen Kelliher, Yana Georgieva
Director of Photography G. Magni Ágústsson, Íks
Editor Quin Williams
Songs By Tom Basden
Score By Adem Ilhan
Screening at Sydney Film Festival 2025
Premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2025.
Starrin Tom Basden,Tim Key, Steve Marsh, Sian Clifford, Akemnji Ndifornyen, Luke Downie, Kerrie Thomason, and Carey Mulligan
Based on the 2007 short The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, the film is directed by James Griffiths (A Million Little Things, Episodes) with a screenplay by Basden and Key. The duo co-wrote the micro-budgeted short, which earned a BAFTA nomination for best short film, and had left the idea somewhat behind, until Key and Basden dived back into the story during COVID-19. “When the pandemic came along and our other work, particularly live work, was thrown into disarray,” Tom Basden said, “Tim and I remembered this idea.”
The duo contacted Griffiths, who immediately sparked to the notion of turning their short into a full-length feature. “It was an itch I was desperate to scratch,” Griffiths says. “I always felt like we had an undeniable creative chemistry. I realized in that COVID break that I had been searching for that same fit ever since. I also think the story itself is more fitting for us at the age we are now. We were quite young when we made the short, but the life experience we had since has given us a deeper understanding of the character’s journeys and themes at the centre of the film.”
The film throws down celebrity culture for great laughs. All rocks stars are only rock stars because of their fans, but the inherent queasiness of actually having to hang out with them, especially with one who bought a lock of one of the singers hair off the internet, is fertile ground. Charles is an accidental millionaire, and at the end of the day, these artists need funding. Herb’s frantic calls to his agent to get him out of it are pushed back with the gentle reminder that the money is more important than his ego. Since the pure days of his early band, Herb has been recording “collabs” with
other artists, desperate to stay relevant. Charles pushes back on Herb, pointing out what every artists dreads to hear, that maybe their new stuff isn’t good as the old stuff, which deep they know.
The hankering for and grief of the past plays out for all the central characters, but it is Nell who is the most grounded and has more or less already moved on. Mulligan plays the part, as always, to perfection, and is the still centre around which the other’s chaos circles. What makes the film extra special is that a whole back- catalogue of songs were written by the team and are sung throughout the film. The music is utterly convincing as the backdrop and backstory of the couple and their band, and when performed by Nell and Herb, the audience is as charmed as Charles, who lovingly looks on at his heroes.
Basden wrote about 25 songs for The Ballad of Wallis Island, channeling such influential singer-songwriters including Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Halstead, Gillian Welch and Paul Simon. He said, “I wanted the songs from McGwyer Mortimer’s early albums to feel quite timeless, almost as though they could have been recorded in the 1960s, and to have an innocence and sincerity to them, which Herb feels as though he’s lost since he and Nell parted ways.”
Basden has said he felt some trepidation before sending the songs to Mulligan, in part owing to the fact that she’s married to award-winning musician Marcus Mumford, frontman of British rock band Mumford & Sons. “I had a very nervous time waiting for her to get back to me after I sent her all my dodgy home demos to have a listen to,” Basden said. “Luckily, she was really positive about them. Some needed to be tweaked to suit her voice, but generally, she was able to learn them very quickly.”
For her part, Mulligan said she was impressed by Basden’s gifts as a songwriter and found his songs a joy to sing. “The music is so good, so catchy. He’s written all these amazing songs for us to sing together.” she said, “Raspberry Fair is a particular favourite.”
A real treat- definitely an Irresistible favourite.
