“Yesterday” Movie Review

    Yesterday I watched the film “Yesterday” (see what I did there) for the first time and was eager to get this review written.  I had wanted to see this film in the cinema but it got sort of lost in the crowded summer movie season.  You can only watch so many movies a week after all.  I am a big fan of The Beatles so this movie really sparked my interest.  Now that the film is available on blu-ray and DVD, I finally was able to sit down and watch it.

    The film tells the story of a struggling musician named Jack who is about to quit his dreams of making it big despite the encouragement of his friend and manager Ellie.  After Jack gets hit by a bus, he wakes up to a world without any knowledge of The Beatles.  Jack freaks out at first (as one would) but then sees an opportunity to pass off the songs of The Beatles as his own.  After some time, Jack’s fame expands and he becomes one of the biggest musical talents of all time but it may cost him something more valuable than money and fame, it may cost him the love of his life.

    I really enjoyed “Yesterday” quite a bit and thought the film felt very original.  The script was written by Richard Curtis and while Curtis is known for his quirky love stories, adding an equally quirky premise to the script makes it feel refreshingly different.  Director Danny Boyle also helps elevate the script with his very intimate filming style no matter the scope of a scene.

    The film is very fun at times and doesn’t take itself too seriously.  One of my favorite aspects of the film is that Jack has so much trouble remembering all the lyrics to the Beatles songs, even getting some of them wrong.  It’s one of those simple things you wouldn’t immediately think a movie like this would cover but it does so in an amusing way.  The only aspect of the film I was a bit indifferent towards was how the film ended.  The ending wasn’t bad but wasn’t what I was expecting either.  I had wondered if at one point the film’s ending was going to go in another direction.

    The film’s lead Himesh Patel was amazing and I see a bright future for him.  Patel is able to convey so many emotions through his eyes that he doesn’t even need to speak a word of dialogue to express his feelings.  Lily James was also very good as Ellie.  From the very beginning, you hope Jack and Ellie get together and that is largely due to the chemistry Patel and James share.  The only weak link with the acting comes from Ed Sheeran.  Sheeran wasn’t as terrible in the movie as some reviewers might say, but he didn’t reach the level of excellence Patel and James reached so his performance unfortunately stood out more.

    “Yesterday” was a fun and sweet movie with a killer soundtrack.  I really can’t imagine someone disliking this film even if they didn’t enjoy it as much as I did.  I can’t imagine a world without the music of The Beatles in it, but now I can’t imagine a world without “Yesterday” in it as well.

Grade: A-