The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025)

Herb McGwyer arrives on Wallis Island, a small, windswept isle off the Welsh coast, carrying the dented case of a once-famous musician who used to perform as one half of the folk duo McGwyer Mortimer. A wiry, earnest fan named Charles greets him at the island quay and leads him to a compact, cozy house where Charles lives alone. Charles explains that he has hired Herb to play a private show and, without ceremony, opens a suitcase to hand Herb the entire fee in cash: five hundred thousand pounds. The billfolds spill onto the table. Herb examines the money and listens as Charles talks about how he and his late wife Marie spent years following McGwyer Mortimer around the world, squandered a first fortune, then later won the lottery again and retired to the island. Charles says Marie adored the duo and that he arranged the performance in memory of her, though he quietly admits that the audience will number "less than a hundred."

Herb tries to steer the conversation away from the past. He answers Charles's questions about the breakup of McGwyer Mortimer--both the professional split and the end of his romantic relationship with Nell Mortimer--with guarded, evasive remarks. His phone stops working after he drops it in water, so he walks to the island's small shop to use a payphone. The shop is run by Amanda, a practical single mother who recognizes Herb from her teenage son's music tastes and treats him without fawning. Charles shows Herb the makeshift performance area he has prepared: a rough pallet on the beach with a view of the sea and the horizon. Later, with a prideful smile, Charles confesses that he himself will probably be the sole member of the audience.

Herb plans to use the five hundred thousand pounds to fund his faltering solo career, now divorced from the folk intimacy that made the duo beloved. Days later, a surprise arrival complicates the simplicity of Charles's plan: Nell Mortimer steps out of the ferry crowd with an American man, Michael, whom Herb has never met. Nell looks older than in the duo's publicity photos; she has stepped back from music and now lives in Portland, Oregon, where she sells homemade chutney and attends farmers' markets. Charles lights up at seeing them, thrilled at the reunion, but the mood turns prickly that evening at dinner when Nell discovers the payment Charles has offered. He has given Herb five hundred thousand pounds but intends to pay Nell two hundred thousand less. Nell reacts angrily to the imbalance; the difference in fees sparks a sharp exchange between her and Herb that escalates into a heated argument about money, careers, and the choices that separated them.

Herb leaves the tense dinner and sleeps badly. In the morning he attempts to depart the island quietly, but he remains after Michael corners him and speaks frankly: Michael explains that he and Nell are not as financially secure as they appear and that they need the fee. The revelation stops Herb from leaving immediately. That afternoon, Charles opens a trunk of memorabilia he has gathered over the years--posters, programs, a battered old guitar that Herb recognizes as his, and, tucked in among the keepsakes, a lock of hair that Charles claims is Nell's. Herb notices that the hair looks fake; later Charles will admit it is a counterfeit, a souvenir created to fill a void. Nell examines the collection with a complicated expression and then, alone with Herb, begins to play their old songs. In the spare living room they rehearse together, fingering chords the way they used to, and music softens the friction between them as they play for Charles, who sits with wet eyes.

Life on the island becomes a series of small rituals and exchanges. Charles joins Herb for tennis matches during which he monologues about his life; he jokes that his only reliable shot is his serve because he practices alone. The tennis courts are rough and isolated, and Charles's unselfconscious friendliness peels away layers of Herb's irritation. Charles encourages Herb to try again with Nell; he tells his visitor to not let a past partnership die in regret. Herb, in turn, nudges Charles toward Amanda, suggesting that the shopkeeper might make him happy if he musters the courage to ask her out. Amanda listens and smiles with a dry amusement that is not quite encouragement.

Charles organizes a small island festival called Seaman's Day and brings Herb and Nell to the beach to participate. On a sunlit afternoon they write wishes on paper lanterns and prepare them for release at sunset. The group eats from tumbledown picnic blankets and wanders along tide pools; the sea smells like salt and old coal. As dusk arrives, they light the fragile lanterns and set them afloat into the air. The sky fills with their tiny flames. Later, on the beach after the release, Herb tells Nell that he still loves her. Nell replies that she is pregnant. The announcement cuts through Herb's confession; Nell accuses him of being trapped by nostalgia, of wanting only what they shared in the past rather than accepting who she is now. She leaves, but before she goes she pulls a small, real lock of hair from the clasp at her throat and slips it into Charles's hand. Charles keeps it tenderly and tells her--insistently--that she should keep making music if she can.

Herb reacts to Nell's pregnancy and rejection with fury. He lashes out at Charles for staging the reunion, then begins to pack in a rainstorm. He grabs his old guitar and tosses clothes into a battered suitcase. Instead of leaving the island, though, he walks to Amanda's shop and asks her to look after his bags. Amanda obliges; she treats his belongings like ordinary items rather than relics, and her son peeks from behind the counter, grinning because he knows Herb's songs. After a few hours Herb returns to Charles's house, unsettled. Michael shows up the next morning to collect the money he believes is due; Charles had apparently lied to Michael by saying the gig happened earlier. Michael reprimands Herb sharply, calling him childish for pursuing Nell and criticizing the state of his career. The lecture leaves Herb chastened but not reconciled.

Late the next day Herb wades into the surf to retrieve one of the lanterns that has drifted offshore. The lantern bobbles on the waves; he fights the current to reach it. From the beach Charles sees Herb waist-deep and assumes the worst--that Herb means to drown himself. Charles throws off his jacket and steps into the water to save him. The rescue attempt flips the expected roles: Herb swims out and, seeing Charles flounder, hauls him back toward shore, dragging the smaller man across the breaking waves. On the sand, breathing hard, they sit in sodden clothes. Charles explains that the event he has staged is in honor of Marie's fifth death anniversary; he admits he thought bringing McGwyer Mortimer together again would keep the memory alive. Realizing his determination has caused pain, and seeing the message scrawled on the recovered lantern--an intimate message from Charles to Marie expressing love--Herb's anger shifts. Charles tells Herb he will pay the fee regardless of how the weekend has gone. Herb touches the damp scrap of paper and, moved by the vulnerability it reveals, decides to play the show.

Before the performance Herb goes to Amanda's shop to invite her to attend on Charles's behalf. Amanda accepts and puts on a slightly dressier cardigan. The makeshift stage on the beach fills with a few extra chairs as local islanders trickle down; Charles, who had expected to be alone, watches with a stunned, eager smile. The night is breezy and the sea carries the low sound of waves against the shore. Herb opens with songs he and Nell used to perform; his voice is worn but honest. Nell sits in an audience chair next to Michael, listening with folded hands. Herb pauses between numbers to tell little, matter-of-fact stories: about the old days, about how songs were written in caravan kitchens, about a woman who used to hum in the wings. For the final piece he leans into the microphone, names Marie aloud, and dedicates the last song to her memory. He plays slowly, his fingers shaping a melody that holds back grief until it breaks. The crowd--mostly just Charles, Amanda, Michael, Nell, and two or three islanders--stills. When he finishes, applause comes like a small wind.

In dawn's pale light the day after the concert Herb packs quietly. He hugs Charles for a long, awkward time, thanking him. Outside, Charles shows Herb the palm of his hand where the real lock of Nell's hair sits folded into a piece of paper. Herb leaves behind the suitcase Charles gave him; he places the money on the table and sets his old guitar beside it with a short inscription: he signs the instrument with the name he uses offstage, his given name, Chris Pinner, writing "Your biggest fan, Chris Pinner" before closing the case. Amanda steps out with a tennis racket, dressed as if for a match, and Charles waves her off to the court. Michael and Nell climb into a small ferry boat; Nell does not look back. She boards with Michael and leaves the island, her pregnancy still unspoken to the others beyond that beach confession.

Once Herb has departed Wallis Island he stops using his stage persona. At his modest home he lays out the chords he rehearsed on the sand and, late into the night, picks up his guitar with a steadier hand than before. He records a new song in a spare room, capturing the tune he played for Marie and the simple story of the island weekend. The track bears the place's name: he titles it "The Ballad of Wallis Island." The film ends with Chris Pinner--no longer Herb McGwyer--playing and singing the new piece, his voice carrying the memory of the island and the people he met there. Earlier deaths in the story are limited to Marie, who died five years before the events on Wallis Island; her passing is not dramatized onscreen, and the film provides no medical cause for her death. No other characters die during the narrative. The final shot holds on Chris as he finishes the song and turns the recorder off, closing the chapter that began with a suitcase of cash and a fan's insistence on keeping a memory alive.

The ending of The Ballad of Wallis Island shows Herb and Nell, the former folk duo, coming to terms with their past and their present on the remote island. After a tense and awkward reunion arranged by Charles, their devoted superfan, they finish performing for him. Charles, still grieving his late wife, finds a moment of lightness and possibility as Herb and Nell encourage him to pursue a connection with a local woman named Amanda, suggesting hope and moving forward beyond their nostalgic longing.

Expanding on this scene-by-scene:

In the final act, Herb and Nell complete their performance on the makeshift beach "stage" before Charles, who has been the sole audience throughout the show. The moment is emotionally charged, as Charles is transported back through memories of his late wife, to whom the band's music was deeply meaningful. This is shown vividly through Charles's expressions, revealing how much the reunion means to him and how it honors his past with Marie.

After the music ends, Herb and Nell, who have been distant and fraught with tension during their stay, gently push Charles to let go of his solitude. They encourage him to take a chance on a budding romance with Amanda, a kind local shop owner they have come to know during their time on the island. This suggestion is significant--it signals a shift from merely clinging to memories to embracing life's present opportunities.

The narrative closes with the three characters--Herb, Nell, and Charles--beginning to reconcile with their respective pasts and envision futures that are not constrained by loss or regret. The isolated and rugged landscape of Wallis Island underlines the themes of separation and connection. Herb and Nell's return to performing, even if only temporarily, rekindles something in all of them, but the story ends without illusions of a perfect resolution, instead favoring a quiet openness to new beginnings.

Thus, the ending scene captures the delicate balance of honoring what has been lost while courageously stepping forward, with music and human connection as the catalysts for healing.

The movie The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025) does not have a traditional post-credit scene. Instead, during the end credits, there is a non-traditional epilogue featuring Herb McGwyer's demo recording of his new song, "The Ballad of Wallis Island," performed by Tom Basden, who plays Herb in the film. This song plays over the credits and serves as a subtle thematic closure to the story, reflecting Herb's artistic and personal journey. At the end of the song, Herb says, "Alright. Got that one. Let's do something else," which adds a casual, intimate touch rather than a narrative continuation or extra scene.

Herb McGwyer and Nell Mortimer were formerly both musical and romantic partners as part of the folk duo McGwyer Mortimer. In the story, they have been estranged for years, and their reunion on Wallis Island brings old tensions to the surface, especially as Nell has retired from music and now lives with her American husband Michael.

Charles Heath, an eccentric lottery winner and superfan of McGwyer Mortimer, wants to reunite the duo to perform for him on his remote island. This is motivated by his nostalgic longing and grief over his late wife Marie, who loved the band. Charles hopes to rekindle memories of his wife and relive past joys through this concert.

Initially, tensions flare between Herb, Nell, and Charles, especially over payment disparities and past grievances. However, as they spend time together, including rehearsing and facing the island's isolation, their relationships shift from hostility to healing, with Charles and Herb helping each other move past their longings and regrets.

Wallis Island, a remote and undeveloped Welsh island, serves as a backdrop that isolates the characters and forces them to confront their pasts and relationships. The island's solitude and natural environment contribute to the story's themes of nostalgia, grief, and the possibility of personal growth and change.

Herb is surprised to find that Nell Mortimer, his ex-partner, has also been hired to perform, along with her husband Michael, whom Herb meets for the first time. Additionally, Herb did not expect that the island and the reunion would profoundly affect the direction of his life, beyond just playing the classics for a private audience.

The movie The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025) is generally suitable for a family audience, particularly for ages 12 and up, though it is rated PG-13 primarily due to some language and smoking. The tone is a blend of comedy and drama with emotional moments, including some heartfelt and quirky scenes, but it is not designed to be overly intense or distressing.

However, potentially objectionable or upsetting content for children or sensitive viewers might include:

• Some coarse language and mild smoking scenes, consistent with a PG-13 rating.
• Instances of subtle emotional or existential struggle related to the characters' isolation and personal loss, which might be poignant but not explicit or graphic.
• The humor can be awkward or odd, centering on socially uncomfortable moments and character behaviors that some viewers might find unsettling or exhausting to watch.

No explicit violence, graphic content, or major disturbing scenes appear in reviews, suggesting no major cause for concern regarding family-friendliness beyond the above points. The film's themes of loss, renewal, and human connection are treated with a gentle, low-key approach rather than harsh or shocking depictions.

In summary, The Ballad of Wallis Island is mostly family-friendly for older children and adults, but parents should be aware of mild language, smoking, and some emotional depth that might not suit very young or highly sensitive children.

For the 2025 movie The Ballad of Wallis Island, there is no indication that the dog dies. The search results do not mention any death of a dog in the film, and specifically in the context of this movie, no information suggests such an event occurs. The source dedicated to dog deaths in movies, DoesTheDogDie.com, does not list The Ballad of Wallis Island as a film where a dog dies.

Therefore, based on available information, the dog does not die in The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025).