The Ballad of Wallis Island serves up Stephen King’s Misery with a mug of tea and a lemon scone on the side. Here, parasocial fandom might cause the odd faux pas, but everyone’s feet stay nicely attached – and, ultimately, it comes from a pure place, with the potential even to transform both the obsessee and their target into better people.
Former folk-rock star Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden), who’s since shifted into a hollower, more commercial space, turns up in a rickety boat to Wallis Island expecting an intimate, rural festival-type gig. Only, his hotel is actually the home of Charles (Tim Key); the audience is, well, Charles; and, unbeknownst to him, he’ll be reuniting for the first time in a decade or so with his ex-musical and romantic partner, Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan). Director James Griffiths, Basden, and Key have here expanded on their 2007, Bafta-nominated short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. Key, a poet and comedian, has worked with Basden since their days in the Cambridge Footlights.
