Yesterday is a 2019 Danny Boyle movie that features the music of The Beatles. I had been meaning to check this one out for ages, but only recently got around to it. I am not sure why to be honest with you as I like The Beatles and have enjoyed most of Danny Boyle’s movies over the years.
How to Yesterday
You can or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like romantic comedies, check out also our review of Bridget Jones’ Diary.
The Movie Review
Plot and Enjoyment
What we have here is a fun feel-good romantic comedy that is quite predictable, but it is a fun ride while you are on it. I knew after about ten minutes who was going to end up together and even though I knew it was going to happen, when it did, it still put a smile on my face. The reason for that is that this is a movie that makes you care about the main characters.
Main Character and Discovery
The main character is a struggling singer/songwriter called Jack who is instantly likable and played by the very talented Himesh Patel. Jack has some talent, but his music career is going nowhere and he plays to very small audiences, but getting hit by a bus changes Jack’s life forever!
A Unique Opportunity
Once Jack awakens from his rather unfortunate meeting with a bus, he makes a strange discovery. No one else in the world apart from Jack seems to know who the Beatles are! He checks his music collection and all his Beetles records are gone! He checks the internet and there is no record of The Beetles anywhere!
Rising Stardom and Love Story
Jack sees this as an opportunity. Jack starts to perform the famous songs of The Beatles and es them off as his own. Of course, Jack reaches stardom and people all over the world want a piece of him including Ed Sheeran who plays himself which is pretty damn hilarious!
However, at its core, Yesterday is a love story. Jack has a very good friend that was also his manager called Ellie and she believed in him, cared for him, and wanted to be with him. However, Ellie did not want to be part of this “rockstar” celebrity lifestyle that he was about to be thrust into and when Jack headed to the USA, Ellie decided not to go.
Themes and Message
Jack ends up jaded and realizes that there is more to life than fame and money. It is at its heart a story about realizing that love and relationships with others are what is important in life. Did what I just say sound cheesy as hell? Well, that is very fitting because Yesterday is a super cheesy romantic comedy, but it works!
Conclusion
As I said, Yesterday is a very predictable kind of movie, but I have to say, I loved the ending. It really did tug on the heartstrings and made me smile. Of course, the soundtrack in this movie is epic, with most of The Beatle’s big hits showing up, but hearing them performed in this way, in this setting was very cool.
I had a lot of fun with this movie, it is a cheesy romantic comedy, but I will also say that it is a great feel-good movie and one that is perfect to watch if you need cheering up. I could certainly see myself watching this again at some point and I highly recommend you check this out. Even if you are not a fan or all that familiar with The Beatle’s music, you can have fun with this.
