The Ballad of Wallis Island is a gently odd British low key comedy/drama that I appreciated and enjoyed… but not as much as I should have.

It’s about a slightly washed up British folk singer who gets a gig on a nowhere island with absolutely at least two people living on it… one runs a shop with no customers, the other an inn with no guests. It turns out the socially awkward innkeeper booked the gig and is its only attendee.

Not counting Carey Mulligan, this flick has two stars. One is the island and how desolate and gorgeous it is at the same time. The other is Tim Key as the innkeeper… a significantly odd fellow who can’t help but say every mental connection his brain makes in a sometimes one-sided conversation. It’s a brilliant performance and also a handful.

And that’s one of the drawbacks for me because A) I felt he was a little too much and B) he reminded me of a more extroverted me. I’ll make similar mental connections in my brain and, among friends, I might even blurt them out. But mainly I keep them in because I know how annoying it can be. And Tim Key is very good at being very annoying… to the point he was irritating me.

But, to the film’s credit, the main character also finds him an odd duck but admits early on that he kind of feels for him. This film is gentle and kind that way, almost to a fault. I was expecting a Planes, Trains, and Automobiles level freakout between the two but this isn’t that movie and I kind of wanted it to be. Which is unfair to the movie they made and how I usually feel about gentle, kind films.

And yet I smiled wistfully at some the faux pas and enjoyed the story of the folk singers, the clueless shopkeeper, and her cute almost romance. There’s a lot to enjoy but I was held back by one of its positive traits. What a mixed up me.

Score: 76