Yesterday

For a few seconds all light go out around the world. A struggling musician riding home on his bike collides with a bus. Minus two front teeth, he leaves hospital and soon discovers that no one else appears to remember the Beatles. Claiming the Beatles catalogue of songs as his own he comes to be acclaimed as the worlds top singer-songwriter.

That is the main plot of ‘Yesterday’ a film produced by Danny Boyle. His impressive directing credits include Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire and 28 days later. Jack Malik, the singer guitarist and song writer is played by Himesh Patel. While a TV acting veteran, with almost 600 episodes of Eastenders to his credit, this is Patel’s impressive film debut. He does a stirling job, not only in playing the role of Jack, but in singing quite a number of Beatles classics. There is nothing cringeworthy (perhaps with the exception of ‘Hey Dude’) about Patel’s cover versions. The music alone makes seeing this movie a pleasure.

Described as a comedy and science fiction&fantasy, it is also a love story. The cute, Lily James, plays Ellie, a friend of Jack’s since primary school. James is a familiar face from her appearances in Downton Abbey, Cinderella, War & Peace and Darkest Hour. Her character, Ellie is Jack’s manager when we first meet them. She is with him I when he pulls the plug on his mediocre musical career, just before the lights go out. Where this relationship goes is quite predictable, but doesn’t spoil the movie.

A number of other twists and characters add to the enjoyment of this film. The cameo appearance of Ed Sheehan is one. Meeting John Lennon aged 78 was my highlight.

So I would described ‘Yesterday’ as light hearted, musically brilliant, albeit with a plot that should not be scrutinised too closely. It is very well cast and believably acted. A fun movie for the family, and especially those who remember or like Beatles music.