Yesterday: A Beatles Themed Love Story

The Beatles are one of the best-loved, most influential bands in rock and roll history. It seems like every new generation embraces their music as family members and friends introduce it to them. The Fab Four have influenced countless bands, and numerous books have been written about them. Their music has been featured in movies, television shows and on the Broadway stage. But what if the Beatles never existed, and Beatlemania never happened? That’s the intriguing concept of the movie Yesterday, directed by Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire) and written by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love, Actually). Jack Malik is a struggling musician and songwriter who can’t seem to get his career off the ground. His longtime friend and manager, Ellie Appleton, encourages him not to give up on his dreams, despite his lack of success.

Himesh Patel

One night, while bicycling home from a gig, Jack is struck by a bus during an odd global blackout that only lasts a few seconds. After being released from the hospital, he’s visiting with Ellie and some other friends, who give him a guitar to replace the one that was damaged in the accident. They encourage him to play a song, and he performs “Yesterday.” Everyone thinks Jack wrote the song, and praises him for it. Jack tries to tell them it’s a Beatles song, but they’ve never heard of a group called The Beatles. After some quick internet research, Jack realizes he’s woken up in a world where The Beatles never existed, and he’s the only one who remembers their music.

Jack co-opts The Beatles songs, and begins recording and performing them, claiming they’re his own compositions. Of course, people love the music. Suddenly, he’s a huge star, opening for acts like Ed Sheeran, and being courted by Sheeran’s agent, who wants to take him to Los Angeles to record an album. But Jack’s newfound success is driving a wedge between himself and Ellie, who he’s secretly been in love with for years. Will his fame destroy any chance he had for happiness with her? Is there a chance she’s in love with him, too? And what if someone finds out that he really didn’t write these amazing songs? Everything comes to a head at a huge concert event that just might change Jack’s life forever.

The film is a light, enjoyable romantic comedy very much in the vein of screenwriter Curtis’ other work, such as Notting Hill, with the “world without The Beatles” story as a colorful concept to build the love story around. The movie clearly illustrates the enduring power of The Fab Four’s music. Most of the songs are sung and played solo in the film by Himesh Patel (who portrays Jack), and even stripped of the group dynamic, the music loses none of its power. One of the songs that is played in a group setting is “Help!” which is effectively used in a sequence where Jack is clearly at a crossroads, much as John Lennon was when he wrote it. There are some neat Easter eggs for Beatles fans, and there’s a touching cameo at the end of the film that has annoyed some reviewers, who feel it doesn't ring true. I think it works very well within the framework of the story. As a lifelong Beatle fan, it brought a tear to my eye.

Danny Boyle’s direction is excellent, and he gets good work from the cast, with Patel as Jack and Lily James as Ellie offering strong, affecting performances. Ed Sheeran shows he has a good sense of humor while spoofing himself, and Kate McKinnon is deliciously nasty as the agent who wants to exploit Jack. The screenplay by Richard Curtis, from a story by Curtis and Jack Barth, maintains just the right balance of lightness with a touch of drama. It’s never fully explained just why the strange blackout happens, but I think the story is meant to be viewed as something of a lighthearted fantasy. In fact, it reminded me a bit of one of my favorite films by Boyle, 2004’s Millions, which is worth checking out if you haven’t seen it.

Yesterday is a delightful film with a soundtrack chock full of Beatles classics, strong direction, a clever story, and solid performances. The film never takes the music of The Beatles lightly, and uses their unforgettable songs to tell an enjoyable, lighter than air tale about love, fame and music. The film is finishing up its run in theaters, and a video release should be announced soon. Once it is released on home video, I’d suggest a double feature with Robert Zemeckis’ I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), about a group of friends trying to see The Beatles first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, to get the flip side of what Beatlemania was like. Here’s a link to the full trailer for Yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY0GBmOxyYY.