The Ballad of Wallis Island

I really enjoyed The Ballad of Wallis Island at Sundance this year (it was one of the few comedies at the festival that actually worked for me) so I was secretly happy when my nephew expressed an interest in it because that meant I had an excuse to see it again!  It was the first in a double feature at the Broadway last night and he liked it as much as I did (I liked it even more upon a second viewing).  The awkward and eccentric Charles (Tim Key) retired to a remote island after winning the lottery not once but twice.  On the five year anniversary of the death of his wife Marie, he uses some of his winnings to bring Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden), one half of their favorite folk duo McGwyer Mortimer, to the island to perform a concert.  Charles is a very enthusiastic fan and Herb soon finds the whole arrangement to be strange, especially when he learns that Charles will be the only one in the audience, but he stays because he needs the money to finance a solo album.  Complications ensue when Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), the other half of the folk duo, arrives on the island with her husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen).  There are unresolved tensions between Herb and Nell stemming from their messy break-up both personally and professionally but, as they rehearse, Herb begins to romanticize their time as a duo because he is unhappy with the direction of his solo career.  Charles also romanticizes their music because it reminds him of his late wife and this is keeping him from pursuing a relationship with Amanda (Sian Clifford), the owner of a shop on the island.  Both Herb and Charles must learn to let go of the past in order to move forward into the future.  The story is incredibly charming and I love how music (my nephew and I both loved all of the songs) is used as a way to evoke memories because I am instantly transported back to a certain time and place whenever I hear some songs.  The humor is really dry (you have to listen very carefully to all of Charles's one-liners because they are absolutely hilarious) and it was a lot of fun to hear the large crowd laughing out loud with me because I was sometimes the only one laughing during the Sundance screening.  This is a movie with a lot of heart and I definitely recommend it!