Yesterday

Directed by Danny Boyle
Starring Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran, and Kate McKinnon
Initially released Sept. 24, 1919

Watch Time: 2 hrs

Yesterday is not a great movie in any sense, but it does not pretend to be. It’s essentially a romantic comedy tied to a fun conceit: A young man wakes up from an accident in a world that is almost exactly as it was before the accident… but certain things are different. For example, there is no such thing as Coca Cola. Just Pepsi. And, to his astonishment, nobody has ever heard of The Beatles… or any of their music. Which means all of their songs are his to sing… and take credit for.

What I Liked About It 

* As a lifetime Beatles fan, I loved the conceit. Imagine what fun it would be to be the “creator” of some of the world’s greatest contemporary music and lyrics.

* I also liked the idea of casting of Himesh Patel in the lead role of Jack Malik, a struggling Indian-English musician and songwriter. His ethnicity is surprising. It made everything about the plot and interactions just a little bit more interesting. (And he does a great job of being Beatle-like adorable.)

* A quirky contribution to the film was Ed Sheeran, who plays the role of Ed Sheeran, whose career is in full swing until it is interrupted by this upstart writing and singing these amazing songs.

* The romance between Jack and Ellie, his pal and road manager, was workable, but thin. Without the conceit of Jack reinventing The Beatles, the relationship would not have been enough to carry the film. Nonetheless, and to her credit, Lily James does an admirable job playing the boyishly pretty and ditzy Ellie – and providing a good counterbalance for Jack’s innocent earnestness.

Interesting 

Yesterday began as a screenplay by the American writer Jack Barth. Barth had been struggling to sell screenplays for decades. He conceived the story when it occurred to him that if Star Wars had not been created and he came up with the idea, he would not be able to sell it. In Barth’s script (which he called a “meditation on professional disappointment”), Jack did not find success with The Beatles’ songs.

Critical Reception 

* “Director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) and screenwriter Richard Curtis (Love Actually) have divergent cinematic sensibilities, but they meld well enough in this bittersweet, slightly wacky musical fantasy rom-com.” (Chicago Reader)

* “It’s a chocolate egg of a film: sweet and satisfying enough to distract you from the fact it’s completely hollow inside.” (Independent/UK)

* “Give Yesterday credit for taking a sideways approach to honoring The Beatles. But this Boomer fantasy only pretends to dive into a true appreciation of what made the group a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.” (Detroit News)

If you are a Beatles fan and in the mood for some light and uplifting entertainment, you’ll like Yesterday. If you are not a Beatles fan and are looking for a Class A romantic comedy like When Harry Met Sally, you’ll be disappointed.

You can watch the trailer here.