YESTERDAY

34 Replies


Yesterday begins with Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), a struggling musical performer, getting hit by a bus just as the world is plunged into darkness during a weird electrical shutdown. Jack wakes up in a hospital with bumps and bruises and missing a couple of teeth. But in a short time, Jack realizes he’s the only person who remembers The Beatles. Everyone else has no idea who The Beatles were. They’ve been erased.

Yesterday is a high concept movie and either you buy into this alternate reality or you’ll not like this movie. Jack’s manager, school teacher Ellie Appleton, is the only person who believes in Jack’s dream of becoming a successful musician. Of course, Ellie is in love with Jack but for a decade Jack has only focused on his seemingly dead-end music career. But now that Jack is the only one who remembers The Beatles and their great songs, he decides to sing “Yesterday,” “Hey, Jude,” and “Eleanor Rigby” online. Suddenly, Ed Sheeran shows up at Jack’s door offering him a gig as Sheeran’s opening act. And, as you can expect, Jack’s songs fire up the crowd and stardom beckons. But as the crowds grow and Jack’s songs rocket up the charts, Jack becomes more unhappy. He’s guilty because he’s “stealing” The Beatles songs. And Jack finally realizes he loves Ellie. At its heart, Yesterday is an old fashioned love story. Danny Boyle juggles all the high concepts and Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love, Actually) provides a clever script. And, of course, if you’re a fan of The Beatles’ music, you’ll enjoy Yesterday. Are you a Beatles fan? Do you have a favorite Beatles song? GRADE: B

34 thoughts on “YESTERDAY”

  1. Steve Oerkfitz

    Yesterday is on my to see list. I’m a big fan. Can’t nail it down to one song. Would probably go with Let It Be or She Said She Said.

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  2. wolf

    I liked the Beatles’s mucic and of course I still do but we students found it too civil, conventional – so we preferred the Rolling Stones etc which were kind of revolutionary.
    The White Album e g often ran in the background at parties.
    What I especially liked however and was a big fan of:
    Their movies!
    A hard day’s night especially – when it was shown in a cinema in the university city people went crazy, singing along, shouting …
    My favourite of course (I was a Socialist):
    Can’t buy me love! 🙂

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    1. george Post author

      Wolf, “Can’t Buy Me Love” raced up the U.S. music charts in March 1964. It topped the BILLBOARD 100 for four weeks.

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  3. Michael Padgett

    This looks interesting, and I’ll see it eventually. I loved the Beatles but, like Wolf, I preferred the Stones. As for favorite Beatles song the clear winner for me is “Day in the Life”, but there are so many great ones. Among the “silly love songs” I’ve always been partial to Paul’s lovely “Here, There, and Everywhere” and John’s “If I Fell”.

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  4. Jeff Meyerson

    What Michael said – A Day in the Life is a favorite. But there are dozens of others. The whole Rubber Soul album is a good place to start.

    I first heard of the Beatles around Christmas of 1963 when my friend Jan showed up with Meet the Beatles. We got tickets to see them at Carnegie Hall in February of 1964 on their first trip to New York, though the screaming drowned out much of the singing.

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    1. wolf

      Jeff, you lucky guy!
      When the Fab4 started their career in Hamburg I had no chance of course to go there, too far and too expensive for a student.

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    2. george Post author

      Jeff, it’s hard to describe “Beatle-mania” to anyone who didn’t experience it. My sisters were all in love with The Beatles. Each of my sisters favored a different Beatle, but they all loved Ringo!

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  5. Deb

    I suppose there is an interesting “alternate reality” story to be written about a world where the Beatles never existed, but I doubt this movie is it. For the story to work, it has to be willing to address all of the social/cultural elements that the Beatles (and subsequent British Invasion acts) put into motion. I mean, would there be an Ed Sheeran without the Beatles? And yet there he is—just as big a star without the Beatles as with them. No thanks—I’ll just go spin some favorite Beatles songs again. I can’t narrow it down too much, but “Rain,” “She Said,” “Getting Better,” “Fixing A Hole,” “Julia” (special favorite as we chose this name for one of our daughters in part because of this song), “Birthday,” “Back in the USSR,” and “The Two of Us.”

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    1. george Post author

      Deb, I agree. There are massive holes in the plot of YESTERDAY. Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis layer the music onto a conventional romantic movie. There are some funny moments. I’d rather see YESTERDAY than ANNABELLE COMES HOME!

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  6. wolf

    From the later years of course I remember Give Peace a Chance and Imagine.
    On one of my visits to London in the 60s I also bought two books by John Lennon with many pictures:
    A Spaniard in the Works and
    In His Own Write which contains among other nonsense stories : The General Erection (sic)
    of course I showed them around proudly just like the LP by Blind Faith with that cover … 🙂
    My friends were really envious!

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      2. george Post author

        Rick, like you I played my BLIND FAITH LP constantly after it was released. I bought the CD and listen to it when I can find it. My CD collection is in chaos. Another Summer project…

      3. Deb

        If it’s the cover I’m thinking of, I don’t think they could release a cover like that these days—it verges on being child pornography.

      6. george Post author

        Wolf, the British Invasion brought a lot of new music to America. BLIND FAITH was one of my favorite super-groups.

  7. Rick Robinson

    Sounds very contrived to me, another skip. As for the Beatles, I have so many songs I really like I can’t list them all. “Things We Said Today” is certainly a top one, as are “Here, There and Everywhere” and most of the Revolver album. After those, gosh. Some after song.

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    1. george Post author

      Patti, I don’t think erasing The Beatles from the collective consciousness will change your opinion of the group. It’s more of a plot device to launch an unknown’s music career.

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  9. Deb

    Here is John’s take:

    Idea for a Movie:
    A man is injured in an accident during what turns out to be a 12-second electromagnetic surge that encircled the earth. When he wakes up at the hospital, he finds that he is the only person on earth that can remember the songs of Ted Nugent.

    He quickly determines that no one gives a crap.

    He realizes that a Nugent-less world is a better world and hurls himself from a cliff to ensure that he won’t accidentally let loose even a few notes of any Nugent song.

    I can think of no happier ending.

    I am thinking of calling it “The Day the Shitty Music Died.” Or I might make the lead a female and call it “Cat Scratch Diva.”

    There is a poignant scene near the end where he sees a man who looks a lot like Ted Nugent, stocking shelves at Wal-Mart. All he can think to say is, “You put the cream of mushroom where the chicken noodle goes, dumb-ass.”

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    1. Jeff Meyerson

      I like it, Deb! I thought it was going to be Donald Trump for a second, but this will do.

      Favorite Beatles songs (some of many):
      If I Fell
      I’m a Loser
      I Am the Walrus
      Something
      A Day in the Life
      Nowhere Man
      In My Life
      I’ve Just Seen a Face
      The Fool on the Hill

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      1. george Post author

        Jeff, somehow Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis convinced the remaining Beatles to allow them to use their music in the film. Sadly, Jack Malick can’t always remember the exact lyrics so there’s some fun with Jack’s made-up lyrics for the Beatle songs, too.

    2. george Post author

      Deb, you sure have a flair for this kind of script! The unsuccessful musician in YESTERDAY is first introduced in the movie…stocking shelves!

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