Review: 'The Ballad of Wallis Island' is a whimsical story of music and nostalgia, and an introduction to a sharp British comedy duo

Providing dry humor in a damp place, the British comedy “The Ballad of Wallis Island” dances effortlessly between whimsy and melancholy with a story of two men looking for a way to restart their lives.

Herb McGwyer (played by Tom Basden) is a folk singer whose best years are in his past — at least a dozen years, when he harmonized beautifully with his singing and romantic partner, Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan).  Today, he’s making schlocky dance-pop, and needs an infusion of cash to get his next album off the ground.

Charles Heath (played by Tim Key) has that cash, and he’s paying half-a-million pounds for Herb to come to his remote island for a private gig. The audience, Charles tells Herb, is “less than 100” — and, eventually, Charles admits that it’s 99 less than 100, because it’s just Charles.

Something else Charles hasn’t told Herb yet: He’s also invited Nell, who arrives on the island with her bird-watcher husband, Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen). Nell has left the music business, and makes jams she sells at the Portland farmers’ market, and is equally taken aback by Charles’ attempt at creating a reunion of McGwyer Mortimer — whose albums and cassettes fill Charles’ music collection.

Basden and Key wrote the script, based on characters they created for a 2007 short film directed by James Griffith, who reunited with the lads 18 years later for this feature-length version. Basden also wrote the folk songs that Herb performs, with Mulligan’s Nell and without.

The droll chemistry between Basden and Key in their frequent scenes together suggests a comedic collaboration on the order of Fry & Laurie. These two know each other’s rhythms, and let their characters — the jaded musician and the socially awkward millionaire — play against each other in beautiful ways. Throw in Mulligan, who grounds the comedy with a bracing dose of sensibility and charm, and the results are quietly magical.

——

‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, April 11, in theaters. Rated PG-13 for some language and smoking. Running time: 100 minutes.