Weirdly enough, the film that kept coming to mind as I was watching Yesterday was Brightburn. It might not make sense initially, but both films bank heavily on their striking premises, and both don’t necessarily do much to explore the deeper implications of said premises, instead largely favoring conventional and straightforward genre elements to make the desired effect on the audience. With Brightburn, it was horror, and with Yesterday, it is the rom-com.
Before I get to that, I’m sure it’ll be helpful to know what the big concept, courtesy of screenwriter Richard Curtis, behind Yesterday is. We have Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), a struggling singer-songwriter who, after getting hit by a bus, wakes up in a world where The Beatles never existed. He begins singing the songs from the iconic band, and finds himself achieving the fame and recognition he has always desired.
That’s a great hook, and Curtis has a flair for colorful characters, whimsy, and humor that lends itself to the premise well. There’s a number of really funny gags that play on your knowledge of the music, and the ridiculous notion of someone having no idea of them. Patel is able to show a great comic timing with his continued frustrations and utter bewilderment at the world around him, especially when Ed Sheeran (playing himself) and his manager, Debra (Kate McKinnon), enter the picture. Sheeran even makes a playful reference to Amadeus, about how he’s coming to terms with his own mediocrity like Salieri in the face of Mozart’s genius. Even Joel Fry shines as Rocky, Jack’s roadie, who has a tendency to screw things up and get himself drunk.
However, if you’re looking for a deep dive into a world without The Beatles, you’ll be disappointed. Aside from some fun gags, and a couple key and effective sequences during the final act, we don’t really dig far below the surface here. It doesn’t go further into the impact and significance of the band beyond the audience’s assumed reverence for them and their music. It’s arguably a massive missed opportunity for the filmmakers to do something really interesting and unique. Although, it becomes clear that the film fairly quick has no intention of doing anything. The fairy tale-esque premise is here ultimately to serve as a backdrop for what the film is really interested in, which is the romance between Jack and his best friend/manager, Ellie Appleton (Lily James).
Circling back to my Brightburn comparison earlier, the reason I ultimately enjoyed the film is because while it may not have dug that deep into its clever premise, it still delivered a solid slasher movie. And sadly, this is where the problems begin holding Yesterday back. The film begins by establishing Ellie and Jack’s relationship as strictly platonic, but hinting at some greater affection that Ellie has, which Jack doesn’t seem to be remotely aware of. It isn’t until around the halfway point until Jack starts to realize he might have feelings for her after all, but he loses his chance. Ellie even gives him a choice to stay and try to work it out, or go and work on the album that’s going to launch him into superstardom, which is an icky way to write a character like this. The film misses a huge opportunity by not showing their developing relationship in a way that’s on an equal playing field. Plus, there’s a detail about the one moment where we see them as children, when she first sees him performing “Wonderwall” by Oasis at school, setting off their long friendship. However, in a world where The Beatles don’t exist, neither does Oasis, and the film doesn’t do anything with this connection, which is bizarre.
Depending on your tolerance for Curtis’ trademark sentimentality, there might be enough to salvage here. I did end up finding the film perfectly watchable, and that’s mostly due to the endearing performances from the cast. Patel is a great talent, and it’s great to see a South Asian actor lead a movie like this where he just gets to be without the film feeling the need to bend over backwards to justify his casting. I hope to see more of him in the future. And despite the character being underwritten, Lily James has never delivered a bad performance, she has charm and presence to spare. The two do share a solid chemistry here, and it’s captured beautifully by director, Danny Boyle. His stylistic flourishes are certainly more muted here than usual, but it’s still far more visually dynamic and energetic than most rom-coms you’ll see out there.
So, that’s Yesterday. It’s a mixed bag and deeply frustrating, which is unfortunate because everything about this from the people in front of and behind the camera would suggest this to be something I would absolutely adore. There are too many tiny things that could’ve been tinkered with that could have make the film more solid and resonant. You can’t help but see a much better movie hidden in here, begging to burst out. I am ultimately glad I watched it. It has performances I enjoyed, sequences that moved me and made me laugh, and of course, the songs are great. I didn’t mind that it doesn’t take full advantage of its premise, but the romance that is meant to be the real heart and soul of the film is underdeveloped and disappointing in its execution.