Yesterday
A few yesterdays ago (sorry about that), I went to the movie, Yesterday (2019). While it may not have made my Top Ten list (jury's still out), I did find it to be one of the best movie experiences I've had the good fortune to know this summer.
Yesterday is about Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), a struggling musician whose only fan is his devoted manager Ellie (Lily James). When he wakes up after an accident, Jack comes to find no one else seems to remember a mildly popular band known as The Beatles.
I'll admit it; when I first saw the trailer, I can't say I truly believed in Yesterday (I know, I know). It looked unique and fun, but I was certain I could see the ending a mile away. Fortunately, as the movie stayed in theaters, curiosity got the best of me. I needed to know how on earth a plot involving the one person on earth who could remember The Beatles would work.
I needed to know how on earth a plot involving the one person on earth who could remember The Beatles would work.
Danny Boyle directs the story easily, if obviously, between the high and low notes, striking a chord between upbeat and serious (done with music puns). This film works, though, not by analytically examining what it took to write the music or make The Beatles happen, but by looking at what it meant to hear the music, especially hearing this "new" sound for the very first time.
Maybe Yesterday could have been more. More meaty, serious. There’s definitely room for the story to have grown and with a slew of musical biographies at the box office, proof that it could have. The Beatles were a bit before my time and to be honest, I don’t truly understand the context around their rise. Maybe someday a film will come around that “does them justice,” so to speak. But for now, this second generation Beatles fan is content with Yesterday’s simple joy.
One of Yesterday's best (in any case, one of my favorite) qualities is that it doesn't over-explain. It doesn't go into detail or get bogged down by why there is this collective memory loss. There's a great freedom in this mystery. It could be anything, but it really doesn't matter. It simply is and it's quite simply good.
Ed Sheeran also shows up in a role too substantial to call a cameo. He's not an actor and while it is obvious, it's not necessarily in a way that makes your eyes bleed. In fact, Ed Sheeran playing Ed Sheeran somewhat grounds the story, providing context and a lens to read it. Patel works in his role partly because he's the unknown any struggling artist can commiserate with. Sheeran works in his role primarily because he's the successful artist a fair number of people know.
Lily James shines as the devoted Ellie and shares an easy chemistry with Patel, even if the romantic subplot between them sometimes stumbles. Not only that, but there's a lived-in feeling with most of the characters, main and supporting alike (sans SNL alum Kate McKinnon’s agent/manager who I thought could make just about any character charming). The script allows for quick banter and naturally flowing dialogue, all of which I was grateful for. The strangest of plots are believed if the people inside them are real.
With an ending I did not expect (phew) and a resolution that's just shy of being too obvious (grrr), Yesterday was worth a five-dollar ticket and will be worth the 17.99 I spend for the DVD to watch with friends and family.
I realize as I come to the end, I neglected to say anything about the quality of the film's music. As little an authority as I am on film, I'm even less so of sound. But then again, for a movie about the joy of listening to The Beatles, I'm not sure you'd need to be.
So yes. I guess I do believe in Yesterday.