Yesterday Review

Yesterday is a film that has gathered some of the biggest talents in British entertainment. It was produced by Working Title Films, directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle, written by Richard Curtis, and centred on the music of The Beatles.

Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a struggling musician who is prepared to give it up after one disappointing gig too many. His life changes when a mysterious event erases The Beatles’ music from history, so he decides to pass off their songs as his own. He quickly becomes the most celebrated singer-songwriter in the world but suffers in other ways.

In the UK there is a mini tread of musical dramas – 2019 has already seen the release of Fisherman’s Friends, Wild Rose, and Rocketman, and Yesterday is a part of that. Yesterday was probably the one people were most excited about because of the people involved. Yesterday is very much Curtis’ baby.

Curtis is seen as the king of British rom-coms and has worked on some of the best British comedies. His credits include Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Love Actually. Yesterday bares a lot of similarities to one of his more recent films – About Time. Both films are about magical realistic stories centred around a romance and have a sentimental streak about them. Curtis uses the concept to explore themes about relationships, fame, and plagiarism. And like in About Time Curtis’  view in Yesterday was that even in the darkest moments there is the potential for a life-affirming realisation. Curtis was aiming for a theme about what truly makes someone happy.

Because of Curtis’ influence Danny Boyle’s seemed muted. Boyle is one of the most distinct British directors considering his filmography. This is the man who made Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Slumdog Millionaire. But Yesterday is visually his blandest film – not helped that he wasn’t working with his regular cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. There was only the occasional visual flash from him like when Jack stands in a room of screens. The trapping of Curtis’ writing was fully on display making Yesterday seem even more like a spiritual successor to About Time.

Being a film based on The Beatles’ work the music was second-to-none. Favourites like “Yesterday,” “Let it Be,” “All You Need is Love,” and “Help” appeared. Curtis does get creative with some of the effects of The Beatles’ disappearance. The biggest is how music culture has changed – during a marketing meeting talking about why Beatles album names would be problematic for a modern audience. It’s a little dig at some millennials who get easily offended by culture from the past. The film also points out that Jack has to go to Liverpool because he can’t ‘write’ songs about places he never visited and questioned why he sang “Back in the USSR” in Russia if the USSR doesn’t exist anymore. The film does address the moral debate about passing someone else’s work as your own if you can get away with.

Yesterday plays like a story about the “Mandela Effect,” where people claim that there remember certain things differently and supposedly proof that alternative universes exist. The Beatles were not the only thing to disappear in Jack’s world -including the band Oasis. Although if The Beatles didn’t exist surely the impact on pop music would be even bigger.

Yesterday has been advertised as a rom-com and the feel-good film of the summer. There are some solidly witty moments. There were fun little lines littered throughout and Lily James was effortlessly charming as the love interest. It’s the kind of role she can do in her sleep. She easily jokes with her unrequited love and the leads do have a good back-and-forth with each other.

Beatles fans will get some joy from the references and of course love the music. But Yesterday came across more like a pale intimidation of About Time which was a much deeper film due to its familial themes.