By Louis Addeo-Weiss
Director Danny Boyle’s brought to the big screen the scenario millions a fan of music have muddled over in their head since the mid-60s; what would a world without the Beatles look like? Does Boyle’s vision translate?
A review for a film with subject matter such as this needs to be prefaced with acknowledgement of the importance of the Beatles, musically and culturally.
For my money, there has never been and there will never be another group like the Fab Four.
In just seven short years, the collective of John, Paul, George, and Ringo crafted the songbook to end all songbooks, forming the basis for how a rock band should look, sound, dress, behave, etc.
Musically, the group’s work landed on genres as diverse as their native skiffle, 1950s American rock ‘n’ roll artists such as Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry, pop melodies courtesy of Paul McCartney, classical and baroque influences, the avant-garde, psychedelia, and the proto-type for what would soon become progressive/art rock (“A Day in the Life”).
Simply put, the Beatles represented versatility, class, and genuine-affinity for music as a whole.
On a cinematic level, however, the same cannot be said about Yesterday.
While Himesh Patel’s performance as Jack Malik, the film’s protagonist who seems to be the only person in the world to remember the existence of the Beatles, was surely a highlight of the film, the story based around him feels rather rushed and leaves many with more questions than answers.
From the film’s outset, it’s made clear of the mutual feelings of affection shared between Malik and Ellie Appleton (Lily James), but too much priority seems to be placed on the limbo-status surrounding the pairs relationship.
If one is paying to see a film that looks to answer the hypothetical surrounding a world without the biggest band in history, a fan forum would easily serve as a better guide than this dribble, which gets to my next critique of the film – its sloppiness.
Scenes here feel rushed and, as previously noted, story lines aren’t given enough context to fully develop as the film progressed.
One major letdown came near the film’s conclusion when Jack, surprisingly backed by musicians other than himself this time, perform a homage-like rooftop concert in Gorleston near his hometown to announce the release of his debut record One Many Only.
The ensuing performance of 1965’s “Help!” may’ve been the film’s single worst moment, as none of us needed a pop punk rendition of one of John Lennon’s most endearing, yet melodious compositions.
Not only this, but the film only manages to use this one song for Jack’s performance, which serves as quite a letdown when figuring where the Beatles rooftop performance ranks among the highlights of their career and in the panels of music history.
Easily the most unnecessary character in the film was Jack’s father Jed, portrayed by Sanjeev Bhaksar, as he served as a mere obnoxious distraction to a story with more holes in it than a tent in a thorn bush.
Each moment with him on the screen put me in a clinical state of eye-rolling, as his character was insufferable to listen to and watch.
One scene in particular, where Jack sits down at the piano to play “Let it Be” constantly saw his father tending to unimportant matters such as going into the kitchen, talking over him, and letting his pestery-friend Brian (Vincent Franklin), who further proceeds to disrupt Jack’s playing, into the house to listen.
Kate McKinnon, who plays Malik’s manager Debra Hammer, was a nice casting decision on Boyle’s part, as her character is genuinely fun to witness unfold, and she serves as the film’s symbol of the crooked nature surrounding the music industry and those who work in it.
British musician/songwriter Ed Sheeran, who plays a fictionalized version of himself in the film, was commendable here, though not exactly your first choice when considering a film such as this.
For one, Sheeran has listed the Beatles among the artist’s he feels have inspired the most, so should the Beatles cease to exist, wouldn’t that logic apply to Sheeran’s successes, as the group were central to several elements of his music, including his signature finger-picked guitar style reminiscent of McCartney’s playing on “Blackbird” and “Mother Nature’s Son”?
I mean, the film literally conveys this when Jack searches “wonderwall oasis” on Google, only to receive zero results remotely in line with what he intended to find, but I’m this is just something we’ll never know the answer to.
And as cute and innocent as Lily James’ character of Ellie was in the film, and I do feel she performed well in this role, there seemed to be far too prevalence placed on their relationship here.
A film about a world without the Beatles is best served devoid of a love story.
Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past, though generally considered one of Matthew McCounaghey’s less-heralded roles, serves the purpose it sets out to; a romantic comedy marketed as such.
This is my biggest concern with Yesterday, and that’s simply how misleadingly it was presented to those who grew up with the Beatles’ music.
The truest essence of what makes the Beatles is the groups’ universality. What would’ve made the film beautiful is if it were just a mere celebration of what life with the Beatles’ music was like.
Instead, we were given an average romantic comedy with a solid, yet unimpressively performed soundtrack.
