Based on a story by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, About Time) and Jack Barth (Japanorama, The Fabulous Picture Show), with a screenplay written by the former, comes the delightfully refreshing Yesterday, directed by Danny Boyle (127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire). In this comedy/fantasy/musical Jack Malik, played by big-screen newcomer Himesh Patel (EastEnders, Damned), is a struggling singer/songwriter with his childhood best friend Ellie, played by Lily James (Baby Driver, Cinderella), as his manager and sole believer. Working part-time at a mass grocery store in London, Jack is well-liked by his customers, but very dismally received by his musical audience. When he decides to quit the music business for good, against Ellie’s fervent wishes, he sets off for home on his bicycle with his guitar strapped to his back. This is where things get weird.
In a freak, global power outage that happens at the very moment Jack is crossing the street on his bicycle, a bus hits him. Waking up in the hospital to his friend Ellie, he discovers he has lost two teeth, but other than that he is physically okay. When Ellie and Jack’s other friends come to take Jack out after he leaves the hospital, they shower him with gag gifts including a new guitar. When they ask him to play a song, Jack decides to sing Yesterday by the Beatles. His friends are absolutely blown away and continue to ask him how he came up with something so beautiful. After a bit of Google searching, Jack discovers that after the accident/power outage the Beatles have ceased to exist. In a moment of existential crisis, Jack decides to play the Beatles songs as if he wrote them and slowly but surely he becomes more and more popular, finally realizing his dream of becoming a famous singer/songwriter, with his trusty roadie/comedic sidekick, Rocky, played by Joel Fry (Game of Thrones, 10,000 B.C.).
Without spoiling things, Richard Curtis has written yet another fantastic screenplay that warps the real world we live in just slightly enough to be utterly bizarre. Danny Boyle takes this screenplay and perfectly adapts the feeling it is to be trapped in a small hometown with desperate aspirations to get out and be successful. The film is filled with dry British humour as well as plenty of music numbers, mainly by Jack, but also by the self-deprecating Ed Sheeran, who helps Jack along the way. The film challenges what the definition of success is with Jack being pulled between Ellie and his new manager, Debra Hammer, played by Saturday Night Live alum Kate McKinnon (The Spy Who Dumped Me, Ghostbusters 2016).
Danny Boyle proves he is the master of tackling different genres as he directs Yesterday with so much ease, it’s as if he has been making comedies his entire career. Well, when you look at his filmography, I suppose he does have a knack for comedy, even in his more twisted film 127 Hours. It’s truly inspiring that he can make so many truly great films that touch on so many different unique genres. He directs the actors extremely well, as each and every character in the film is just that: a character. Very memorable performances given, especially by the supporting cast, with shout outs to Jack’s hilarious parents Sheila & Jed Malik, played by Meera Syal (Doctor Strange, Absolutely Anything) and Sanjeev Bhaskar (Absolutely Anything, London Boulevard) respectively. Kate McKinnon injects her own dry sense of humor into the veritable “devil on the shoulder” talent manager. Himesh Patel and Lily James own the screen with their charisma and charm, both dealing with an odd situation in completely different ways. Patel also proves he has a very beautiful voice, and that he can carry a movie on his shoulders, as he sings the majority of the songs in the film himself.
With such a wacky world-building device as a mass blackout where things are literally forgotten from the world, it’s only fitting that Jon Harris (127 Hours, Kingsman: The Secret Service) edits Yesterday. Harris’s films are consistently edited with a fresh and kinetic style like no other. With one Oscar nomination under his belt already for 127 Hours, don’t be surprised if his name comes up during awards season. Filled with tons of interesting title crawls introducing the many different locations the characters visit, Yesterdayis a melodically, warm summer film. Combined with the lovely & colorful cinematography from Christopher Ross (Black Sea, Blackout) Yesterday is, simply put, the feel-good movie of the summer. If you enjoy the Beatles, wacky British humour, and/or Danny Boyle, I highly recommend this film, which takes a pretty insane plot device to lengths you couldn’t imagine.
