Review: The Ballad Of Wallis Island
words by Jamie Brewer.
A few years ago, I found myself at a marketing lunch with a group of strangers.
I was placed at the far end of the table next to a woman and following polite niceties about the weather and menu, we naturally progressed to work conversations. ‘What department are you in? What are you working on?’, etc. As it transpired, she worked for Lotto Australia and part of her job was, unbelievably, to notify lucky registered winners that their lives were about to change.
Our lunch was on a Friday, the day after Australia’s biggest-ever Powerball jackpot had been drawn - an eye-watering $150 million. My fellow diner then told me that the day before, she had called a young single mother to share the good news. As the story goes, the woman was a nurse at a busy public hospital and when first contacted, asked if she could call back. The Lotto employee briefly told her she had won the jackpot, and asked her to call back at her earliest convenience.
Half an hour later, during her break, the nurse called back and said, ‘I’m in shock! Is this true? I can’t believe I’ve won $15 million.’ The Lotto employee corrected her, confirming that no, this was not a joke, but she had, in fact, won $150 million.
It feels like folklore, but it’s a first hand story that I often retell during pub banter. After the inevitable ‘Fuck, that’s lucky! Why can’t that happen to me?!’, the conversation always turns to what people would do if they won the lottery. It’s a fun game with infinite possibilities, that I’m sure many of you think about as you drift off to sleep at night. What would you do if you won that kind of money?
Director James Griffiths’ new film The Ballad of Wallis Island which premiered this year at Sundance Film Festival explores this very fantasy. Pun-loving protagonist Charles (brilliantly played by Tim Key) wins the UK lottery and uses his fortune to buy a sprawling property on Wallis Island. There, with money no object, he commissions his favourite band to reunite for a private gig, bringing international music superstar Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) back together with former partner and bandmate Nell (Carey Mulligan) after nearly a decade of estrangement.
Inspired by Key and Basden’s 2007 BAFTA-nominated short film (The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island) The Ballad of Wallis Island is a sweet and beautifully shot film that explores the torment of nostalgia, loneliness, loss, empathy, unlikely friendships, acceptance and hope.
Tim Key’s character is an obsessive fan with a goofy sweetness who, despite his newfound wealth, learns the age-old lesson that money can’t buy happiness. He leans into nostalgia and the soundtrack of his younger life to remember a time when he was happier, but instead finds himself trapped in a loop, grieving a closeness he has lost.
The theme of nostalgia’s negativities runs in parallel with Basden’s Herb McGwyer, who is also struggling with an identity crisis as his solo career wanes, coming to terms with the idea that there’s little to be gained from looking in the rear-view mirror. Both characters help each other realise this in subtle and endearing ways, showing the audience that shared loss can create unique bonds and reveal things you were once blind to. Both men discover that offering generosity in the form of friendship gives them a freedom far beyond anything wealth could ever offer. It’s about accepting that while reminiscing can be comforting, forging a path forward is your only chance at newfound happiness.
The recurring metaphor of tennis in the film superbly captures the necessity of being challenged by a partner or an opposing force and embracing the back-and-forth of life. After all you can have the perfect serve, but without someone to return it, what’s the point?
The Ballad of Wallis Island opens in Australian cinemas on August 28th.
