Focus Features‘ heartwarming comedy “The Ballad of Wallis Island” is set to charm audiences when it releases in theaters on March 28, 2025. This delightful film tells the story of eccentric lottery winner Charles (Tim Key), who dreams of reuniting his favorite folk-rock duo, McGwyer Mortimer. His dream becomes reality when former bandmates and ex-lovers Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) and Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan) agree to perform a private concert at his remote Welsh island home. Let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at how this charming indie film came together.
Long before casting was underway, Basden began focusing his energies on creating the
McGwyer Mortimer back catalog, writing an entire songbook for the fictional folk duo, including
tracks from their seminal album, titled Way Back When.
The Origin: A Short Film Reborn
What many viewers might not know is that “The Ballad of Wallis Island” actually grew from the seeds of a BAFTA-nominated short film created nearly two decades ago. British comedy veterans Tim Key and Tom Basden, along with director James Griffiths, originally collaborated on a micro-budget short titled “The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island” back in 2007.
“The short was a two-hander, which worked for the timeframe,” Key explains, “but making this, we decided to open it out a bit and make it more populated.“
This expansion of the original concept happened during an unexpected window of opportunity: the COVID-19 pandemic. With live performances suspended and other projects on hold, Key and Basden found themselves with time to revisit their earlier creation.
“When the pandemic came along and our other work, particularly live work, was thrown into disarray, Tim and I remembered this idea,” Basden recalls. The duo contacted Griffiths, who immediately sparked to the notion of expanding their short into a feature-length film.
“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.“
A Deep History of Collaboration
Key and Basden’s professional relationship extends back to the early 2000s, when they performed as a comedy duo called Freeze! Their partnership evolved through alternative theater, short films, and eventually their sketch comedy series “Cowards,” which ran on BBC 4. This long-standing rapport served them well when crafting the naturalistic dialogue and carefully balanced dynamics of “The Ballad of Wallis Island.”
Their chemistry was evident during production, with Griffiths noting: “I could feel a mutual respect that they held for each other’s craft.“
The Welsh Landscape as a Character
Finding the perfect location to serve as Wallis Island was no simple task. Though the filmmakers initially considered shooting on actual islands off the Pembrokeshire coast, practical production requirements necessitated working on the mainland.
After what producer Rupert Majendie describes as “three months and many miles” of searching, they discovered a privately owned area adjacent to the beach in Carmarthenshire, Wales, which became their Wallis Island coastline.
“The locations add an undeniable charm,” says Majendie. “It was cold and wet at times, but filming in Wales with those amazing locations added an extra character to our film.“
The historic Derwydd Mansion, a Tudor-style property dating to the 15th century, served as Charles’ home. Production designer Alexandra Toomey and her team scoured local antique marts to decorate the vast spaces in a way that would reflect the character’s eclectic personality.
“With this, there’s a bittersweetness, a sense of melancholy, but there’s also hope and joy,” Toomey explains. “Those same feelings have been threaded through Charles’s house, as well as him being quite eccentric.“
Creating an Authentic Musical World
Central to the film’s premise is the fictional folk-rock duo McGwyer Mortimer and their music. Rather than merely suggesting the band’s existence, Basden, who is also a musician proficient at guitar, banjo and various other instruments, composed an entire songbook for the fictional band, writing approximately 25 original songs for the film.
“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 explains.
Basden channeled influences like Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Halstead, Gillian Welch, and Paul Simon to create music that would feel authentic as the work of a cult indie band—the kind that critical darlings might champion even if mainstream success had eluded them.
For Carey Mulligan, who has previous singing experience from films like “Shame,” “Far from the Madding Crowd,” and “Inside Llewyn Davis,” the quality of Basden’s compositions was a pleasant surprise.
“The music is so good, so catchy,” she says, specifically citing “Raspberry Fair” as a particular favorite. “He’s written all these amazing songs for us to sing together.“
Casting Nell Mortimer
Securing three-time Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan for the role of Nell was something of a coup for the production. Key and Basden knew they needed someone with both acting prowess and musical talent to make the character work.
“There are so many reasons to ask Carey Mulligan to be in your film, the main one is that she’s just a phenomenally good actor,” Basden says. “Tim and I felt it was worth taking the risk and sending her the script, seeing if she liked the vibe of it. And she did. She clicked with it straight away.“
Mulligan had been a fan of Key’s and Basden’s comedy work and was drawn to the script immediately. “I was really excited that both Tim and Tom wanted me to be in this—I’d always sort of loved them from afar,” Mulligan says. “The story is moving, funny, and beautiful. It’s a film that makes you feel good about life and love, something that we certainly need more of.“
An Efficient Production
Despite its scenic locations and emotional depth, “The Ballad of Wallis Island” was shot in a remarkably efficient 18-day production schedule, primarily in and around Carmarthenshire, Wales.
“It was incredibly busy, but everyone kept their sense of humor,” director James Griffiths says. “We had a small, intimate crew of storytellers who all pulled together to bring this to life.“
Cinematographer G. Magni Ágústsson, who has collaborated with Griffiths for nearly 15 years, faced particular challenges shooting in the variable Welsh weather. “The weather and light are extremely variable and at times very unpredictable,” he says, noting that his biggest inspiration came from the story’s isolated location.
One particularly memorable sequence involved filming Herb’s arrival on the island. “We got extremely lucky that day as the weather was fairly amicable, but we had the added element of working closely and literally in the sea, with its different types of tidal waves and extreme tides,” Ágústsson recalls. “Our beach would be exposed for hundreds of yards in a matter of hours.“
A Film About Second Chances
At its heart, “The Ballad of Wallis Island” is a story about reconnection and reconciliation. The three central characters—Charles, Herb, and Nell—are all dealing with past regrets and thwarted ambitions in their own ways.
“I think all of the characters are in some ways stuck in the past or dealing with the mistakes of the past and their thwarted ambitions,” Basden observes.
For Herb, this manifests as a cynical attitude toward his current career, having traded artistic integrity for commercial success. “In the back of his mind, Herb feels that he shouldn’t be doing this—that all private gigs, no matter how well paid they are, are a form of selling out,” Basden explains.
Meanwhile, Nell has built a new life away from music, finding contentment in making chutney with her bird-watching enthusiast husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen). “Nell is actually alright,” Mulligan says. “She’s happy with her new life… She genuinely does like making chutney and having a market stall, but she still sees herself as an artist and wants to create things.“
A Labor of Love
From all accounts, “The Ballad of Wallis Island” was a passion project for everyone involved. Though small in scale compared to Hollywood blockbusters, the film represents the fulfillment of a long-held desire to revisit and expand upon a story that has been important to its creators for many years.
“Seeing Tim Key and Tom Basden work opposite each other in THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND is nothing short of a masterclass in comedic and dramatic performance,” producer Majendie says. “Their shared history and creative shorthand they’ve honed over the years translates beautifully on screen.“
Director Griffiths concludes: “I think people will initially fall in love with the characters and the predicaments they find themselves in but will also come to realize that it is quite an emotional film. I hope that people feel the warmth that we have tried to put across.”
“The Ballad of Wallis Island” opens exclusively in theaters on March 28, 2025.
