YESTERDAY (2019)
Starring Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran
Directed by Danny Boyle
Written by Jack Barth, Richard Curtis
Distributed by Universal Pictures. 116 minutes. Opening this Friday in theaters everywhere.
Imagine there’s no ‘Beatles’… That’s the concept behind Yesterday, the latest film from director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), which imagines waking up in a world where the Fab Four and all of their world-changing music never existed. Based on a story by Jack Barth and screenplay by Richard Curtis (Love Actually), Yesterday is a crowd-pleasing hit that mostly plays to its feel-good emotions, but will no doubt connect with Beatles fans.
Jack (newcomer Himesh Patel) is a struggling musician, playing his original songs to unimpressed crowds at empty boardwalks and coffee shops, except for his friend and manager Ellie (Lily James) who might harbor more than friendly feelings for him. Jack’s ready to call it quits when a power surge strikes across the globe, landing Jack in the hospital. Presented with a guitar the following morning, Jack strums out a rendition of Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday.” When he finishes, his audience isn’t just pleased: they’re utterly speechless, asking Jack when did he write such a beautiful song. Jack, bewildered, soon finds that not only have they never heard the song before but that he’s living in a world where The Beatles didn’t exist.
As a film, Yesterday is crafted fully on feel-good vibes, making for an easy-watching and ultimately pleasing time (to watch the film surrounded by people laughing and enjoying the same moments is probably the best way to do it). The reveal of the twist in the first act creates many memorable moments that are the film’s most special parts. And there’s also a good onscreen ensemble to provide charm as well: Ed Sheeran (as himself) makes more than a cameo here, and Kate McKinnon steals the show when she arrives as Jack’s sleazy agent. While Himesh as Jack is good-to-serviceable in the role, Lily James relays full star-power onscreen, providing all of the heart that the film has to offer.
Having said that, Yesterday has a large hurdle it needs to clear, and one that I’m not sure it committed to taking on fully: how do you re-present arguably the best pop songs ever written an audience in a way that will showcase how brilliant they are as well as the songwriting on display? The angle that Yesterday seems to take is that Jack “writes” these more than well-structured songs under time crunches – in some cases, instantly. And while I was enjoying tapping my feet to songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Back in the USSR,” I wasn’t blown away by any new perspective on any song here (save for the inclusion of “The Long and Winding Road,” whose time-stopping performance was what the film needed even more of).
Perhaps somewhat ironically (although maybe not un-coincidentally), Yesterday doesn’t chart any new territory, staying surface-level on the themes of authenticity and not doing any more inventive storytelling. There’s some fun that’s had with Jack trying to remember all of the lyrics to some of the more obtusely colorful songs, but what would it have been like if Jack put his own twist on any of these songs? How would The Beatles more psychedelically sounding and paradigm-shifting songs affect this modern culture, and what would the state of the world even look like if we were deprived of songs like “Let it Be” and “Hey Jude”? Perhaps that version of the movie would have more aptly been titled “Tomorrow Never Knows,” and we as an audience will have to enjoy those thoughts on our own. But what we have is Yesterday and the pleasing yet familiar stylings that come with it.
