Yesterday
Updated: Aug 30, 2019
Jack Malik, an aspired musician who makes his ends meet by playing small venues with his manager, Ellie. But everything changes when He gets hit by a bus and the entire world forgets who The Beatles are due to a mysterious power outage, except him. He uses his voice to spread the music The Beatles made years ago and discovering that “All You Need Is Love”.
When I saw the trailer to this, it had my interest. Seeing a film based on music, but not the musicians who wrote the music seemed peculiar, but it worked so well. In a time where the people of today are obsessed with the latest stars, it was unique to see a single person captivate the modern era with music from the 60’s. It was a genuine way of saying that the music of The Beatles truly is timeless.
Director Danny Boyle did a fantastic job creating a new and original film that shows you the power of music and the effect it has on those in your life. The cast was also breathtaking! Himesh Patel, Lily James, Joel Fry, and others delivered incredible performances and all brought a great sense of charm. Himish, who played as Jack Malik, did marvelous bringing the same energy that The Beatles did, making every song feel personal and one of a kind.
This film had a budget of $26 million and it shows. Some scenes feeling poorly lit, especially on locations in direct sunlight. All feeling very flat and not much depth. It’s a very small budget film, but what they pulled off was astonishing. Multiple locations across the globe, the concerts all shot well, and even the large crowds that they had. It certainly spent every penny it had well.
The music of course is something that must be touched on. Classic songs, all from the Beatles. “Penny Lane”, “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “Eleanor Rigby”, and so many more. Jack travels to Liverpool, where the band is from, to retrace the steps of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. I can imagine that for die hard fans, it will be a nice trip down memory lane and will feel a lot of sweet nostalgia from certain scenes as well as a surprise appearance!
All in all, great film. I can easily go down the road of all the plot holes with how the The Beatles completely disappear due to a power outage, but looking past that I can defiantly recommend it. It’s a fun ride and you’ll be singing the songs your ride home from the theater.
I’ll give Yesterday a 3.5/5.
