The Ballad of Wallis Island
| The Ballad of Wallis Island | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | James Griffiths |
| Screenplay by | Tom Basden Tim Key |
| Produced by | Rupert Majendie |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | G. Magni Ágústsson |
| Edited by | Quin Williams |
| Music by | Adem Ilhan |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Focus Features (United States) Universal Pictures (international) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Ballad of Wallis Island is a 2025 British comedy film directed by James Griffiths, produced by Rupert Majendie, and starring Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Carey Mulligan. Basden and Key co-wrote the script.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2025, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on March 28, 2025, by Focus Features.
Synopsis
[edit]Charles (Tim Key) is an eccentric lottery winner who lives alone on a remote island and dreams of getting his favorite musicians, McGwyer Mortimer (Tom Basden & Carey Mulligan) back together. His fantasy turns into reality when the bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation to play a private show at his home on Wallis Island. Old tensions resurface as Charles tries desperately to salvage his dream gig.[1]
Cast
[edit]- Tim Key as Charles
- Tom Basden as Herb McGwyer
- Sian Clifford as Amanda
- Akemnji Ndifornyen as Michael
- Carey Mulligan as Nell Mortimer
Production
[edit]The project began as a short film Key and Basden made with James Griffiths and produced by Moxie Pictures. The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island won best short film at The Edinburgh International Film Festival and was nominated for the 2008 BAFTA Award for Best Short Film.[2][3][4]
The feature film, initially entitled One For the Money, had Rupert Majendie as producer with Bankside Films representing sales.[5] Focus Features subsequently acquired worldwide rights to the project, which was later retitled The Ballad of Wallis Island, with Universal Pictures handling the international release on its behalf.[6]
Principal photography was scheduled for Wales in 2023.[7][8][9]
Release
[edit]The Ballad of Wallis Island premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2025, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on March 28, 2025.[10][11]
Reception
[edit]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 21 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10.[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[13]
Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "The director James Griffith's The Ballad of Wallis Island is a sublime, adorable comedy whose roots can be traced to a short Griffith made eighteen years ago."[14]
References
[edit]- ^ The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025) | Comedy, Sci-Fi. Retrieved January 24, 2025 – via m.imdb.com.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 4, 2023). "Carey Mulligan, Tom Basden & Tim Key To Star In Comedy 'One For The Money' For Steve Coogan's Baby Cow & Bankside Films — Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- ^ 2008 Bafta Short Films Awards
- ^ Edinburgh International Film Festival Awards History Archived 1 October 2009 at the Portuguese Web Archive
- ^ Booth, Ned (May 4, 2023). "One For The Money': Carey Mulligan, Tom Basden & Tim Key To Star In Upcoming Comedy Based on Basden & Key's BAFTA-Nominated Short". The Playlist. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- ^ Yossman, K.J. (April 2, 2024). "Carey Mulligan Comedy 'The Ballad of Wallis Island' Acquired by Focus Features (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ Singer, Maya (October 10, 2023). "Carey Mulligan on Going "All In" With Bradley Cooper for Maestro". Vogue. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Kundu, Tamal (July 15, 2023). "Carey Mulligan's 'One for the Money' to Shoot in Wales This Year". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Jones, Alice (June 12, 2023). "Tom Basden on bringing his Met Police satire to the West End". The Times. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 11, 2024). "Sundance 2025: JLo, Sly Stone, Putin, Ayo Edebiri, André Holland, & Ex-NZ PM Jacinda Ardern Films Among Park City Festival Offerings". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 16, 2025). "'The Ballad Of Wallis Island': Focus Features Sundance Carey Mulligan Movie Sets Spring Release". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
- ^ "The Ballad of Wallis Island". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ "The Ballad of Wallis Island". Metacritic. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ Daniels, Robert (January 2025). "The Ballad of Wallis Island". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved January 28, 2025.