SCREEN
A satisfyingly bittersweet British comedy; a bloody, multicultural late-1700s yarn; a true tale of Nazi resistance; and more…
THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND Over the past couple of decades, Tim Key has shyly risen to the position of comedy national treasure without ever quite claiming the spotlight. Though he’s stolen scenes in Peep Show and Detectorists, he’s still best known as Sidekick Simon Denton, the dim foil who accompanied Alan Partridge from Mid Morning Matters to This Time. There’s an awkward, bumbling modesty to the character that feels out of time, a gentle throwback to the 1970s, such that you could imagine him in wellies and knitted tank top, joining Richard Briers at the allotment or sharing cucumber sandwiches at the vicarage with Derek Nimmo.
So it’s a surprise to find him starring, alongside longtime collaborator Tom Basden, opposite Hollywood A-lister Carey Mulligan, and not only holding his own, but shining in what might be the most satisfyingly bittersweet British comedy drama since Paddington 2.
The Ballad Of Wallis Island is an adaptation and elaboration of The One And Only Herb McGwyer…, a winsome 20-minute short that Key and Basden made with director James Griffiths in 2007. It told the story of a sullen indie-folk singer lured to a remote British island on the promise of half a million quid for a private gig.