Yesterday

Unlike its timeless source material, Yesterday’s harmony struggles to shine through the noise of this summer’s blockbusters. Director Danny Boyle steps away from the adrenaline rush of his previous films, such as 127 Hours and 28 Days Later, to bring a sweet, heartwarming film about a musician. The fantastical twist to this story, though, is not that The Beatles cease to exist, but rather that the main character does not fall into drug addiction after becoming famous.

All jokes aside, the characters are the strongest element to this film, especially by the outstanding performances of the core actors. The casting behind this film was bold to say the least: centering an entire, international film on an unknown, Indian from Cambrigeshire, England that has to not only act alongside Lily James, Ed Sheran, and Kate McKinnon, but also sing every hit song by The Beatles. Not only was the casting bold, but Himesh Patel absolutely nailed it. His character, Jack Malek, struggles through the entire film as he desperately tries to write his own music, but the only success he gets is through lies and other people’s creations. Lily James complements his internal struggle with a fantastic performance as her character, Ellie, tries to encourage Jack to go beyond their tiny hometown and finally find the success he has been looking for. Lily James really shines in this film, bringing out the best jokes and the most emotion in each scene. The supporting cast is mainly used for comedy, and they add a lot of fun at the beginning, but it is Jack and Ellie that elevate this film beyond that regular “summer-flick.” Both of these characters feel real, bringing out the energy that drives this film forward.

Ed Sheran and Kate McKinnon are the only aspects of the performances and characters that detract from the film. Ed Sheran is playing himself—quite well actually—but his acting is stiff. There are many scenes where they play with his superficial performance, where they have him pretend to not be jealous at Jack’s incredible ability to “create” a hit song out of thin air. They play into his wooden delivery with his dialogue, hinting that his words are in fact, surface level, and that his character is hiding what he does not want to accept. Kate McKinnon is the opposite, her character is only a caricature a stereotypical band manager; no depth, emotion, or organic delivery. Her performance is nothing beyond the SNL skits she does every weekend, but her comedic wit is used in just the right amount to make her performance forgivable. The film knows when to use her and when to ignore her existence, placing her only in few scenes, but with some great one-liners. These two performances do not break this film, but they do break the suspension of disbelief, which separates the audience from empathizing with Jack since he is surrounded by two cartoons.

Apart from the refreshing characters, the story is very simple and never fully dives into the premise that is set up at the beginning. As a whole, it is not the music-star-coming-into-the-spotlight film it tries to be, because the story is a romance; there are no big stakes to the story, the only part of his life that he is losing is a love story he never knew existed until it was too late, and the film does not fully capitalize on it in terms of loss and obstacles. Once Jack becomes famous, doing concerts and about to drop the biggest album of all time, the film drags on as he waits to realize what he needs to do. For me, the film could have ended ten minutes earlier, and I thought it was ending twenty minutes before that. I enjoyed the humor and the heart that came from the characters, but the jokes never delved into what was actually happening with the premise, and the story took a little too long getting to where it wanted to go.

Overall, it is a simple and lighthearted story that does not rely too heavily on knowing The Beatles to be enjoyed. I enjoyed all the characters and thought Jack’s inner struggle was well developed. Lily James is the star of this film, and her performance makes me want to seriously watch the recent, live-action Cinderella… or rewatch Baby Driver. Danny Boyle’s direction takes a few quirky steps, but I thoroughly enjoyed how British the film was. There were so many jokes that—if I were British—might have made me fall out of my seat in laughter, but that fun spirit is still present universally. It is a small film that was gifted a bigger release because of Ed Sheeran and Kate McKinnon, but I hope it gains its fans over time. It could have chosen the easy path and done the same story as Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman, but it chose to be its own story, which elevates its simplicity to hopefully an entertaining hit.

Story Rating: 6/10

Character Rating: 7/10