Jack Malik is a struggling singer-songwriter in an English seaside town whose dreams of fame are rapidly fading, despite the fierce devotion and support of his childhood best friend, Ellie. After a freak bus accident during a mysterious global blackout, Jack wakes up to discover that The Beatles have never existed. Performing songs by the greatest band in history to a world that has never heard them, Jack becomes an overnight sensation with a little help from his agent.
The core premise of this film is intriguing. The idea of waking up and nobody has heard of The Beatles? It raises so many questions. What happened to the band members? How does this affect how the music industry evolved? So many questions and unfortunately Yesterday doesn't really answer many of them.
The main issue that I had with the film itself is how misleading the trailer is. The trailer gives you the impression that this premise of Jack Malik making a music career from The Beatles songs is the major storyline of the film. But that is not the case. The screenplay for Yesterday is written by Richard Curtis--known for the likes of Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, and Love Actually--so it is rather understandable that the romance portion of the film is where the focus of the film is. It is just a pity that the trailer went with the direction that it did, as it falsely represents the film, and many of the extra people it will bring into the theatres to see it, may be disappointed by the turn the film takes in the second and third act.
That first act, however, was exactly what the trailer promised. A delightfully charming story with a good helping of comedy to help move it along. A lot of the film rests on the shoulders of Lily James and Himesh Patel whole will-they-wont-they relationship is something that is incredibly relatable to the audience. Lily James is an absolute treasure to watch onscreen. Admittedly, her character has very little role in the film after the first act, despite her getting a lot of screentime, but she is able to convey so much emotion that it feels genuine and pulls you in. Every time you see her smile, you want to smile along with her.
If you are a fan of The Beatles, there's certainly a fair amount to enjoy about this film. While this is not a musical by any definition, the iconic music is a big part of the film, and Himesh Patel does a great job performing modern iterations of around 20 different Beatles' tracks.
The event that removes The Beatles from history does come with other consequences and they are a good source of comedy. Surprisingly, despite how often that specific source of comedy is used it manages to remain quite fresh, only diminishing slightly towards the end of the film.
If you are a big Danny Boyle fan, there isn't much to really here to catch your interest. There is no boundary-pushing direction here. Everything is very by-the-books, and while it looks nice it is neither experimental or exciting. This is no Trainspotting.
Ed Sheeran has a reasonable cameo in the film and you do have to give him props for his role. He takes the self-deprecating humour in the film incredibly well and proves to be a welcome addition to the film's cast.
Yesterday is a fun flick that uses the premise in the trailer to fuel a romantic comedy for the latter two acts. A great first act that loses pace for the remainder of the film, Yesterday averages out to a mediocre rom-com that only works because of an incredibly endearing performance from Lily James, and the genuine chemistry between James and Patel.
This will no doubt appeal to any Beatles fans or rom-com fans. Outside of that, Yesterday will leave a lot to be desired.