A struggling singer/songwriter, Jack (Himesh Patel) crashes his bicycle and wakes up to find heās the only one on Earth who can remember John, Paul, George, and Ringo. He decides to perform the Beatlesā songs and takes credit for writing them, and begins to reap the fame and riches his own material never garnered him. Now, there are all kinds of logic problems with this scenario (would āShe Loves Youā actually be a hit in 2019?) and the movie earns some jokes through the meta elements of the narrative, but thatās not the point of Yesterday.
Instead, we watch Jack struggle with the ethical implications of passing off othersā work as his own, problems that are exacerbated by the Faustian bargains offered by a big-shot manager (Kate McKinnon, missing only the horns, tail, and pitchfork). Jackās newfound fame also takes him away from his friend Ellie (Lily James), whoās so obviously love-struck that itās hard to feel any sympathy for Jack when he slowly, dimly realizes Ellie might be the one. Yeah, no shit, Jack.
Beatles diehards will surely be infuriated by a few things in Yesterday, but in the end, I donāt think this movieās really meant for them.
The movieās got panache, particularly during the musical performances, thanks to director Danny Boyle, whoās in a genial, warm-hearted mood here. The scriptās from Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually), and like a lot of his work, itās funny and fleet of foot, but a bit flimsy when you start examining it closely. Ed Sheeran appears in a significant supporting role, gamely skewering himself in order to be the gateway drug for getting his fans interested the Beatles.
There are almost too many problems with Yesterday to pick them all apart, so itās worth saying that the movie is mostly a pretty enjoyable experience. Beatles diehards will surely be infuriated by a few things along the way, but in the end, I donāt think this movieās really meant for them. I think I first got into the Beatles when I was 11 or 12, and thatās probably the ideal age to see Yesterday. Its cock-eyed optimism about Beatles songs standing the test of time, irrespective of context, is both the most frustrating thing about the movie and the thing that makes it hum. So you can either run for your life, or turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream.