Yesterday review – A fantastical salute to The Beatles’ music
“As unusual as it may seem, the film gives a very interesting idea to life without The Beatles music.”
Trainspotting director Danny Boyle is known for giving us simplistic but high quality British films that touch upon reality in the biggest way – Yesterday is no exception. Stepping more into the fantasy bracket when it comes to genre but still giving Boyle’s usual feel, this rags to riches story tells the story of an upcoming musician who wakes up the day after a goal power outage to be the only person who remembers the music of the fab four.
With an amazing cast, some *cough cough* interesting cameos and unexpected moments that hold a lot of heart, this film carries a lot and gives you humour and emotion with ease. Eastenders‘ Himesh Patel takes his breakthrough role and rolls with it as the down-on-his-luck Jack who rises in fame by singing Beatles classic such as the title song, ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Hard Days Night’. Cinderella‘s Lily James is the charming friend/manager Ellie who from the start you know is head over heels for Jack but the plot, like any vein of romance in a storyline, runs with it quite well.
The rest of the supporting cast shine and help to boost the main leads, with both well known and new British actors also reminding us why British films are so successful these days.
As unusual as it may seem, the film gives a very interesting idea to life without The Beatles music. How? By showing their music being re-introduced to the modern day and being compromised by corporate labels and society on the whole. It allows us to hold up a mirror and realise how today’s take on entertainment, music more specifically, is a lot murkier than back in the 1960s. Image and…basically making money is seen as the main point of sale, and the film does the task of showing the darker side of the music industry brilliantly.
Another point about the non-existence of the foursome? Where would their lives be without their fame? We get the sweetest scene of the entire film in the form of Jack getting to meet a still-alive John Lennon, learning about how his life has gone without music and being killed in New York.
Of course, like every film this two hour fantasy-drama has it’s downfalls. The inclusion of Ed Sheeran feels slightly out of place. The ‘Shape of You’ artist obviously gives a sense of realism to the story and hymns the British feel of the film, especially for a modern audience. However, Sheeran is no actor – just watch this film for proof. As brilliant as his music is, his role could have been filled quite easily by a fictatious artist played by a gifted performer.
As amazing as this film is, some parts don’t land especially well. The beginning shows Jack believing that The Beatles don’t exist just a bit too easily. For a film to imagine those circumstances realistically whilst still moving the plot along promptly is no simple task. Still, it al feels slightly too rushed.
The ending also sadly isn’t anything to rave about either. The film slightly drones on with Jack’s career and becomes stale before a lacklustre twist ending that isn’t so much a twist as it is a random cop out to change the direction of the main character. It felt too easy and there could have been cleverer, more intriguing ways of giving the film it’s final fifteen or so minutes.
On the whole, this film delivers a really interesting and fun story for music fans and even general realists to enjoy. Aside from the film’s bookends and an unnecessary, weak star cameo, everything else is done well. A strong cast. A nostalgia-filled concept. An emotional few beats that make any Beatles fan love the plot more and more.
From this writer, the score is a well earned 8.6/10.
Yesterday is in cinemas everywhere now.