DIRECTOR
James Griffiths 
Cuban Fury

STARS
Tim Key, Tom Basden, Sian Clifford, Carey Mulligan and Akemnji Ndifornyen

What would you do if you had a big lottery win?

Well, Charles Heath (played by co-writer Tim Key) bought another ticket. And won big again!

So, what does one man with two major lottery wins do?

Well, he offers a hefty pay check to his favourite musicians to perform live for him on the remote island he resides, Wallis Island. That’s better than buying a third ticket, I suppose!

Inspired by director James Griffiths’ 2007 short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, this breezy comedy has so far been very kindly received by audiences and critics alike and is ostensibly ‘that’ film I inevitably end up having each year that goes against the grain.

Right from the opening of the film as musician Herb McGwyer (played by the other co-writer, Tom Basden) arrives at Wallis Island by small boat and is enthusiastically greeted by the awkward and unashamedly lame joke cracking Charles, I simply could not take a liking to anything on offer. I found Charles irritating, Herb unlikeable and the tone of the film flat. It also has not much else to offer during its opening act. When we find out that there is more to Charles’ generous payday than simply performing exclusively for him, that somehow had an opposite effect to intended and gave me another reason to further dislike him. Thankfully, this development at least introduced Nell, a second character (the first being the local shopkeeper, Amanda, played by Fleabag’s Sian Clifford) that brings much-needed energy this production is lacking, played by one of my current favourite actresses, Carey Mulligan.

As much luck of fortune as Charles has struck, luck is no cure for loneliness.

The simple and quite sad fact that Charles is a lonely man and loneliness is one of his perhaps minor but undoubtedly motivating factors for inviting, or bribing, his guests to the island becomes evident quite early. As co-writers and stars, I just wish Tim Key and Tom Basden brought forward what is underpinning Charles’ loneliness much earlier than they do and also give that aspect of this character a little more depth. I believe this would have been key (pardon the pun) to embracing Charles more than I could from the get-go.

The other let down is the music, or lack of it. I can think of numerous ways this comedy could have become a music-fuelled story to entertain and impact, which is badly needed yet short of considering there are almost as many musician characters in this film as there are non-musos.

The Ballad of Wallis Island is showing in cinemas across Australia from August 28th, 2025.

Moviedoc thanks Universal Pictures, Park Circus and Nixco for providing a screener link to watch and review this film. 

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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