For all of the extravagance and bombast that we’ve come to expect from major studio releases, so many of those movies lack emotional impact and sheer humanity. That’s why it’s refreshing to encounter more intimate and meaningful releases — whether independently produced or foreign in origin — that rely on well-drawn characters who develop organically over the course of a fine-tuned script rather than leaning on the flash provided by colossal budgets and actors who are box-office lures.
‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’
There’s a certain brand of movie shot in the U.K. and Ireland that trades in crowd-pleasing warmth and whimsy, often playing out in genial small-town settings. These productions reach our shores with enough regularity and positive response at repertory houses that it’s a good bet we’ll likely see even more of them as time moves forward. The latest in the mini-genre that has included such light hits and cult favorites as Local Hero, The Full Monty, and Fisherman’s Friends is The Ballad of Wallis Island.
A sweet, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes genuinely moving jam of eccentric comedy, derailed romance, and musical musings, The Ballad of Wallis Island depicts the reunion of an acclaimed folk-rock duo, McGwyer Mortimer. In addition to their successful musical act — Herb McGwyer and Nell Mortimer — were lovers until the whole thing went sour around a decade ago. Their latter-day coming together is engineered by Charles, a super fan of the couple’s music. He’s a jovial, garrulous fellow who lives on a remote, windswept island off the coast of Wales. By promising them a big payday, Charles manages to convince Herb, who has a middling solo career, and Nell, who has married and retired from the music business, to perform a cozy one-off concert on the island. It turns out that the show will be for a very select, downright miniscule audience. After all, the island is a remote locale, albeit a starkly beautiful one.
The how, why, and results of the reunion are at the heart of The Ballad of Wallis Island. Tim Key and Tom Basden, one-half of the four-man British comedy team Cowards, not only wrote the screenplay, which was developed from their short film of the same name. They play two of the three main roles. Key portrays Charles — an ordinary fellow whose unexpected good fortune has enabled him to celebrate and briefly revive his greatest joy in life: the music of McGwyer Mortimer. Basden is the embittered Herb who agrees to the island gig to help finance his next solo album, which seems as if it will be an exercise in pop-rock pandering. Incidentally, he’s initially unaware that his estranged ex-girlfriend is also coming to the island to do the show. The movie’s not-so-secret weapon is the award-winning actress Carey Mulligan as the earthy, incandescent Nell Mortimer — someone who has moved on from her past but hopes to use the money she earns from the reunion show to finance the artisan chutney business she runs with her American husband, Michael (Akemnji Ndifernyan).
Although Nell was not opposed to catching up with her former companion and collaborator after their time apart, Herb has clearly not gotten over the trauma of their breakup, and the presence of the attentive Michael at Nell’s side on the island isn’t helping matters. Meanwhile, Charles — elated at having brought McGwyer Mortimer back together and dealing with his own echoes of the past — is doing whatever he can to keep the peace between Herb and Nell, even as he’s unable to rein in his fanboy ecstasy and his tendency to natter on. As they attempt to rehearse in a room graced by souvenirs of their career collected by Charles, Herb and Nell have to confront what happened between them and see if they can find common ground or something more after what they’ve each been through.
The chemistry between Basden and Mulligan is lovely — and the bits of original music created for the movie and performed by the twosome sound like the real deal. Their casual but instinctive vocal blend when they prepare to play live for the first time in years and when Charles plays their old recordings are reminiscent of Richard & Mimi Fariña, the well-regarded folk singers whose brief run in the 1960s was halted by Richard’s untimely death. Considering the relationship issues that broke up McGwyer Mortimer, other comparisons might be to Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks and to Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp of the tradition-minded English folk-rock band Steeleye Span. Herb and Nell may be intended as a fictional equivalent to any of those couples, whereas The Ballad of Wallis Island is universal and genuine in its illustration of how tough it is to navigate a shattered partnership — whether personal, professional, or both — and how difficult it can be to move forward in the aftermath.
The Ballad of Wallis Island will open in select Bay Area theaters on April 3.
‘The Friend’
More of a droll, poignant rumination on love and loss than a shaggy dog story, co-screenwriter-director Scott McGehee’s dramedy The Friend does center on the strained but ultimately nurturing relationship between a single working woman of a certain age in New York City — a writer and teacher named Iris (Naomi Watts) — and Apollo, the enormous Great Dane unexpectedly left to her care by her quirky lifelong friend and mentor Walter (Bill Murray) upon his death. So yes, there’s a dog involved. A big one. Almost pony-sized. Which is a bit of a problem when he’s shoehorned into the relatively small New York City flat where Iris has lived for many years.
Apollo is not only enormous but also mourning his human, Walter, an author and bon vivant who shocked those in his circle by committing suicide. As such, the dolorous dog is more than capable of wrecking a cramped apartment. The building where Iris lives has a strict “no pets” policy, which means that she risks eviction if she honors the wishes of the departed and keeps Apollo. The situation is compounded by the reactions of Walter’s widow, his two ex-wives, and his daughter from another liaison. The latter is working with Iris to edit and publish a posthumous collection of Walter’s letters — a project that’s being actively impacted by the grief and confusion felt by Iris and others in the late man’s circle and the reluctance Iris feels about taking on the responsibilities of caring for a dog as unwieldy as Apollo.
The Friend is a thoughtful study of the powerful, often enigmatic connections that develop between humans and between humans and animals. It’s executed with tenderness, wisdom, and good humor, and features trusty supporting players Carla Gugino and Constance Wu as Walter’s exes and Ann Dowd as a sympathetic neighbor. If it’s a little short on Murray whose Walter is more of a memory, Watts makes up for it with her deep, complex, and vulnerable turn as Iris, aided in full by her frequent scene partner, the sad-eyed behemoth Apollo whose own visage might moisten the eyes of sensitive viewers — in particular, pet owners.
The Friend will open in select Bay Area theaters on April 3.
