Michael's Movie Grade: A-
An irresistibly sweet and big-hearted charmer.
This movie is a feature length version of a short film called The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island (2007). This short film was directed by James Griffiths and starred Tim Key and Tom Basden. Key and Basden also wrote this storyline about a lottery winner living alone on a densely populated island, who pays his favorite folk singer a half a million pounds to perform for him. The feature is brought to us by the same director, and stars/writers. This feature length version has the folk singer reunite with his former singing partner and girlfriend (Carey Mulligan) on the island, though the lottery winner didn't tell him she'd be there as well. Despite being a feature length version of a short film, nothing added here feels unnecessary nor does the movie ever drag or feel too long.
This is very much an old school charmer. Though one of the main characters may be a bit jaded by time, there is nothing even remotely cynical about this film. Yet though it may be very sentimental it is never mawkishly so. Instead, every sweet and good-hearted moment feels genuinely earned and real. This is in a large part due to the characters and the cast. We can all see ourselves so easily in each of these characters and by the end of the film, they feel like old friends (in no small part due to how great the cast as well as the writing is). The island itself is just as much a character as any of the people. There is such a nice soothing and relaxing atmosphere to this island that helps give the whole film an easy-going charm. I almost hated to leave when I saw the credits rolling as I simply wanted to live in this world with these characters, a little longer.
For a movie about musicians, the music is of course very important. As a lover of acoustic folk music, the songs were already going to appeal to me. However, the songwriting is truly wonderful here and it is easy to see why the lottery winner is such a fan of this duo's music. Adding this great music and some truly funny humor to the delightful easy-going charm and you've got a real winner on your hands.
What a delightful movie.
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