I'm a huge Danny Boyle fan, I love The Beatles, and I really like Richard Curtis, so I was kind of curious when I heard about Yesterday. I mean Curtis and Boyle working together? Who said Hobbs and Shaw was going to be the greatest cinematic team up of 2019? The film actually turned out to be pretty good, though make no mistake: this is absolutely a Richard Curtis film, with only a few of Boyle's stylistic fingerprints on it. This review will be spoiler free, for the most part, but there's one scene that I kind of want to go into in depth that is a pretty big spoiler, so if you're planning on seeing it, you're generally good to read this review, but I'll drop a disclaimer when I'm about to talk about that scene, so you can just skip over that.
Yesterday follows struggling musician Jack, who gets in accident, and wakes up in a world where nobody remembers The Beatles.... except for him. Of course, this allows him to become a not so struggling musician, as he desperately tries to remember as many Beatles songs as he can. At the same time, he's also wrestling with his feelings for his long time best friend Ellie, which becomes increasingly difficult to do as his global stardom increases. The film's what-if concept is an immediately interesting one, essentially telling a story about The Beatles' impact on pop culture by taking them out of the story. There's a lot of cracking jokes about this, both with the people who have forgotten ("It's called Leave It Be") and in Jack's frenzied attempts to remember the lyrics to these songs (where was the rice in Eleanor Rigby?), and also some blink and you'll miss it details (is that Revolution 9 on the wall?). The comedy is very Curtis, that uniquely British, slightly bumbling style of comedy that Hugh Grant perfected in the late 90s. As a rom-com, Yesterday is a pretty decent one, even if it hits a lot of familiar notes as it goes on. The romance feels genuine, don't get me wrong, but Curtis' execution of it feels almost paint by numbers, with its conclusion incredibly predictable and slightly unearned. The film's use of clichés is actually one of its main issues. So much of this feels like it's been done before, like Kate McKinnon's agent, who's almost a caricature of an "evil corporate type".
This use of cliché is really what let's it down, but, happily, it's premise is strong enough to compensate. It's a great what-if, used not just for genuinely great laughs, but also some really interesting ideas about great art and the people who make it. This ties into the film's conclusion, which, without spoiling it, has some really interesting things to say about that topic. The film makes great use of this idea, which is another testament to how monumental The Beatles were. I mean, how may other bands could you do this with? Better still, how many pop culture figures could you do this with, musical or otherwise? I also love how there's no explicit explanation as to what happened. Because it's not just The Beatles. Lots of things have vanished (including Oasis, hilariously enough), and it's never explained. That's actually pretty impressive, because yeah, the film doesn't need to explore everything about this concept, because it's not like it loses anything without a concrete reason as to why this happened. The most interesting thing about how this film approaches this concept comes in the form of a single scene. So let's talk about it
Massive spoiler incoming, so skip the next paragraph if you haven't seen Yesterday yet
The film is getting a lot of coverage for a single scene, where Jack tracks down John Lennon, now looking a lot like Begbie, living out his days in a cottage by the beach as an artist. Some people have really taken against this scene, saying it ruins the film, that it was a misjudged, out of nowhere moment with nothing to add, one that could have been taken out altogether, and I.... don't feel that way. I quite liked this scene, actually. Is it necessary? Not really, considering how close it comes to the end, and the fact that the film's actual climax doesn't really reference it at all. Honestly, I think it's a pretty sweet moment, one that didn't need to be there, but one that I think is impressive, for the simple reason that they had the balls to put it into a film like this in the first place. A bright, breezy summer rom-com with an out of nowhere wham moment? It's not common, so fair play to them for putting it in. I liked this moment, even if it didn't feel 100% needed, because it kind of works on its own, like an interesting facet of this concept that almost works separately to the story, kind of like a vignette set in this world. Look, I get why some people hated it, but I don't know, I think that the sentiment of it is enough to justify its existence, so yeah, I liked it
And now back to the non spoilery stuff
I think the cast is pretty great too. Himesh Patel is a pretty good lead. A little dull maybe, but hey, he's a romantic comedy protagonist, albeit one in a crazy situation. Patel's a really charming screen presence, even if his character isn't the most interesting. But what does Richard Curtis do when his lead is a little bit lacking? He gives them a lovable best friend of course, which is where Joel Fry's Rocky comes in, frequently providing the laughs. Lily James is wonderful as always, once again proving that her charm knows no bounds in another Summer-musical-romance film (Baby Driver is a love story don't @ me). Ed Sheeran plays himself, which sounds awful but is actually alright. I mean he can't act, but he's endearing all the same, and delivers some really great gags. Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal are great as Jack's parents, and I was in stitches anytime they were onscreen. Kate McKinnon is really the only weak link here, as even she can't salvage such a clichéd character.
Yesterday is a Richard Curtis film. Which is to say it's a safe, soft crowd pleaser, but like the best of his films, has a unique kind of cynicism disarming magic. It's not revolutionary, but it doesn't have to be. It's pure feel-good, and you know what? It felt good. Yesterday is a joyful little film, one that is so overflowing with charisma that when it did occasionally slip up, I really didn't care, because it's so likeable that it almost doesn't matter. Yesterday fits so nicely in the little niche that Curtis has carved for himself, and as bright, breezy rom-coms go, this is definitely a good one. It's just a nice movie, and there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah, it's got its issues, but they hardly spoil what is another slice of uniquely British sweetness from the master himself. Yeah, I would have liked Danny Boyle's voice to be heard a little more, but as it stands, this is the best Curtis has been for a while, and it makes for some really nice viewing, even if it's more Love Me Do Actually than In My Life Less Ordinary.
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