Yesterday Review

June 27, 2019 at 4:55pm
By Jason Stettner

Yesterday is an interesting film that asks the question of what it would be like, if only one person remembered The Beatles. To build on that, the individual also happened to be a gifted singer and musician. That sets the stage for what the movie is as it acts as a romantic comedy around this concept. Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a struggling musician until a magical black out miracle happens and he gets hit by a bus.

This changes his world, he’s down some teeth and he’s really not sure if he can believe those around him that don’t remember the things he does. He’s joined by his long time manager Ellie (Lily James) and the two are rather close, until he gets his big break. This moment sends him to the top of the charts as he begins to start releasing the classic music from The Beatles as created by him. The music gains traction and the narrative is largely about dealing with having to recreate this music in a modern time.

It doesn’t necessarily lean into this element of whether that music would hit like it did back then, but it does show a fun and quick rise to power. You get to see that rise, but I did ponder the thought of how relevant those songs might be if they hit now with no past context to them. It largely is a comedy, with the romance backing it up and that’s the core of this picture.

The music is obviously great, but beyond that it’s well used. The covers are excellent and integrated to help keep the pacing smooth. Everything goes by without a hitch as slow points are picked up by another classic hit.

It really could act as a great way to introduce some more of the obscure Beatles songs into the modern spotlight. That aside, it was a fun movie that was something enjoyable. They delivered the laughs and the atmosphere felt light throughout leading to a rather interesting time. It was always fun for him to discover something else missing, I just sort of wish that aspect had more of an impact in the overall tale.

The acting was excellent, the lead character really did carry the production. It was a great watch and something that was easy to take in. It was almost like a biopic in feeling while not being one at all, very interesting in that regard.

The Conclusion

Yesterday was a really fun, and enjoyable movie that was carried further by the excellent Beatles music. They could have dove further into the concepts of what it’s like to be in this world that’s clearly lost elements of history, but it was fine to just use that for jokes. It’s not meant to be something that’s too serious, as it is a romantic comedy of sorts.

I certainly had a good time the story, the lead was fine and it was a great watch. There were laughs to be had, and it was ever so intense about the romance when that did get filtered through. For the most part it was focused on the music, and the journey to recapture that sound as he didn’t necessarily remember all of the lyrics exactly.

Yesterday Review at Theater with Streamed Viewing
Screening Provided by NBC Universal

Rating Overall: 8.0