Yesterday
Directed by Danny Boyle
Review by Sarah Kidd.
Jack Malik has dreams. He dreams of being the next big thing, the musician that is on everyone’s playlist. A star. His best friend Ellie Appleton fiercely supports his aspirations of fame and fortune, often trudging around behind him as his roadie, personal chauffer and ever optimistic band manager. But a decade has passed, and prestige hasn’t found Jack yet. He begins to grow weary of playing small pubs and birthday parties, his friends often his only supporters.
Declaring one evening to Ellie that he has had enough and that he will be returning to his original career of teaching, he cycles off into the night only to be hit by a bus thanks to a mysterious and momentary worldwide blackout. Recovering back at home, Jack makes the curious discovery that some parts of history have been re-set; no one has ever heard of The Beatles because in the world that he now lives, they never existed. And so begins Jack’s journey to stardom – or so it would seem.
Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) teams up with Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, Love Actually) in an unlikely pairing to bring audiences Yesterday, a fantasy rom-com bursting at the seams with the rich music of The Beatles, and the ultimate question of what truly makes someone’s life a success.
The film begins strongly, Jack, played by Himesh Patel (EastEnders) in his debut film role is a knockout; not only does he have one hell of a voice – check out his cracking version of ‘Help!’ towards the end of the film – but he has an air of charm about him that makes him instantly likeable. Lily James (Baby Driver, Darkest Hour) as Ellie however feels not only terribly underutilised, but rather clichéd as she runs around in plain dresses and naff pyjamas as if to reiterate the fact that she is a nothing more than a teacher in a small town.
While the film ultimately rotates around Ellie and Jack’s relationship, the will they, won’t they, style of courtship a feature that Curtis is well known for in his screenplays, it does start to feel a little tedious, the characters never quite gelling thanks to the slapdash nature of the second half of the movie.
And that’s because while Yesterday is at its heart a romantic comedy, it all does feel like a rather jumbled and rehashed version of several of Curtis’s previous screenplays; it’s Notting Hill in reverse, Joel Fry (albeit brilliantly) taking over that same bumbling character role that Rhys Ifans originally brought to the table. It’s self-deprecating humour with a British accent that Bridget Jones made famous, sprinkled with some of the sparkle that made About Time every so intriguingly appealing. It’s an interesting premise that sadly gets tossed to the side in favour of a love story that just never had the chemistry to really pull the audience in.
Yesterday isn’t without it’s shining moments however, there is some real tongue in cheek comedy thanks to The Beatles not being the only band or item missing from the world. The film also quite happily pokes a stick at the music industry itself, its marketing machine led by people such as Debra Hammer, played by an acidly cold Kate McKinnon, showing a darker side to how stars are made; Jack soon left with a bad taste in his mouth as the cogs begin to grind.
And then there is Sheeran; yes, even pop star Ed Sheeran makes an appearance playing who else but himself. Well actually he makes several, as he becomes a key component in Jack’s story. Made out to be almost a messiah of song-writing, there is a dry wit to his parts which, interestingly enough, were originally written for Chris Martin of Coldplay, Sheeran however fitting the storyline far better.
Of course, the winning element of the entire plot is that of music; the film pointing out quite clearly that there doesn’t always have to be a reason, or defined logic as to why a song was written. Lyrics don’t have to allude to some deep and meaningful message. If music lifts your spirit, makes your heart skip a beat with joy and brings people together, then stop trying to define it and just let it be. Because really, what else truly matters?
While good for a light-hearted watch on date night, overall the film feels a little flat despite its sweet nature and happy ending. Yesterday certainly isn’t going to win any awards, but the music featured throughout is and always will be pure gold.
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