The Ballad of Wallis Island has been out for a few weeks, and I finally got to see it. I had heard some good things about it, so I went in with relatively high expectations, and somehow this film surpassed them. Sometimes, films are primarily about what happens. Sometimes films are about how you feel about what happens. Wallis Island is that rare film in which what happens is just as important as how you feel about it. Not only that, but you might even find yourself pleasantly surprised at how you feel about it.

I must say that I walked out of Wallis Island, not really disappointed with the ending, but disappointed that we didn’t get the performance that the story built toward. Then, on reflection, I realized that this film ended in the most satisfying way possible. The filmmakers brilliantly set up the archetypal elixir that folk singer Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) wanted was to reunite and sing with his former collaborator and ex-wife Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan). They equally as brilliantly set up the archetypal elixir that he needed was to move on from that time of his life, realize that those days are over and never coming back, and embrace his new circumstances.

This is a classic example of pitting what a character wants against what he needs.

I often tell screenwriters when I’m writing coverage for their screenplays that characters are much more interesting when they have an outer goal and an inner need. That interest increases when the outer goal and inner need conflict with each other. Movies are more dramatic when the main character’s inner flaw prevents him from achieving his outer goal, and that is most effectively played out at the all-is-lost moment that transitions us from Act II to Act III. Herb’s desire to rekindle a romantic relationship and new creative partnership with Nell flies in the face of his need to find his own sound and move on from a failed relationship that has no hope of finding success.

Herb must find his own voice.

Serving as the conduit for this doomed reunion is Charles Heath (Tim Key), a widowed lottery winner who bought a magnificent home with his late wife on a remote island. Now, he wants McGwyer and Mortimer to play a private concert for him because he and his wife were such big fans. In his own way, Charlie is also stuck in a similar conflict between inner need and outer goal. He, too, needs to move on from the memory of his dead wife, stop living in the past, and find someone else to love. Amanda (Sian Clifford), a single mother who owns the local grocery store, seems to be the perfect match for him, but his awkwardness and devotion to his late wife prevent him from finding happiness in the now.

The screenplay, brilliantly written by Basden and Key, gives us enough story to allow Herb and Charlie to find the space to grow. Herb’s growth is more noticeable only because he has further to go. He’s a talented man whose best days are seemingly behind him as he struggles to find a new voice and a new sound. The problem is that he hasn’t emotionally recovered from his broken relationship with Nell. His career is waning, but the opportunity to get paid by Charlie offers him a chance to make enough money to cover the expenses of his new album. His inner conflict comes to a head when Nell shows up because Charlie hopes to get them to perform together one more time. The only problem is that she shows up with her new husband, Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen), and she has left the music business behind.

Sometimes, the best scenes are the ones that never happen.

We spend the second act watching Herb and Nell struggle to rediscover their sound. As they do, they rediscover their personal chemistry, and there is the possibility (danger?) that they might fall back into it. As an audience, we’re rooting for it on the outside, but we know it can never work. The second act ends with Nell leaving the island, never to play the gig with Herb. It’s an emotionally devastating scene.

WARNING! SPOILERS!

I wanted to see the gig. Even if Herb and Nell remain “friends,” I thought as I watched the movie that it was important to see the gig happen. So, when it didn’t, and Herb plays the gig solo, I was initially disappointed. I wanted to know what their sound sounded like when they were at their peak. But that was the point that Basden, Key, and director James Griffiths were making. They were no longer at their peak and never would be again. What we saw instead was Herb rediscovering his joy of playing and performing. He no longer needed the old sound. The new sound was the key to his happiness. This ending was infinitely more satisfying than it would have been if they had performed together.

Charlie’s growth is not as dramatic as Herb’s, but it’s just as emotional. We discover that Charlie is a widower and that he and his wife were huge fans of Herb and Nell. Like Herb, Charlie is living in the past. He’s trying to fulfill a promise for someone who can no longer appreciate it, while the opportunity is there for him to share his life with a new person who can appreciate him. He eventually realizes and attains a level of happiness that he would never have had without Herb.

This screenplay is about two people who need to change but don’t know it. One of them thinks he’s happy, and the other one knows he isn’t but believes he deserves the misery he’s living with. The story slowly, effectively, and emotionally brings about the changes in both of these characters as they organically overcome and resolve their internal conflicts in a dramatic and satisfying way.

If you are a screenwriter writing a screenplay relying on internal conflicts in characters to drive the story, The Ballad of Wallis Island is absolutely a film you should see. If you are a movie fan looking for an emotionally satisfying film that will put you through an emotionally satisfying journey, The Ballad of Wallis Island is absolutely a movie you should see.