The Ballad of Wallis Island is a charming and funny tale about learning to live with lost love. It’s about a lonely man who lives on an island and what he decides to do with his large haul of lottery winnings.

The Ballad of Wallis Island stars Tim Key as Charles. He lives alone and listens to old albums from a duo called McGwyver and Mortimer. Charles is an odd fellow. He talks waaaayyy too much in a peculiar manner all his own.

When we first meet Charles, he is greeting Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) as Herb is delivered to Wallis Island in a boat not much bigger than a rowboat. Herb’s been offered a very large sum of money to play a gig there. Herb is on his own as a solo artist. He and Mortimer split up long ago.

Herb slowly begins to get an idea of what a crazy situation he’s gotten himself into. Charles will be the only one at the gig. Charles’ enormous house is filled with McGwyver and Mortimer memorabilia. It should be creepy, but Charles is irresistibly eccentric and likeable.

Herb fell in the ocean and doused his phone. When Charles took him to the tiny shop run by Amanda (Sian Clifford), there was no rice in stock. Amanda offered him a can of rice pudding and pointed out the pay phone outside. Amanda becomes more important in the story as we get into the depths of it.

Just as Herb is coming to terms with what Charles is up to with this gig, another tiny boat arrives. This one bears his former partner Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan) and her husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen). Yes, Charles wants them to perform together and sing the old songs they wrote years ago.

Nell is fine with this plan, but Herb has problems because he never got over his love for Nell. Awkward.

There are a lot of emotional ups and downs between these three, until Herb finally realizes why Charles acts so strange about the whole reunion of the band. Both Charles and Herb have to learn to let go of lost love and move on with life.

Tom Basden and Tim Key wrote the screenplay. Tom Basden wrote the songs. He and Carey Mulligan did their own singing. The songs were lovely, especially the one titled “The Ballad of Wallis Island.”

This exquisite little gem of a film is streaming on Peacock or available to rent on Amazon, YouTube and other streamers.