Tags: Yesterday. Movie Reviews.
Bizarre or imaginative; far-fetched or creative… You will be on one side or the other as a viewer of Yesterday by filmmaker, Daniel Boyle. Jack Malik, played by Himesh Patel is a struggling British musician hoping for fame and fortune in the industry. Close to abandoning his dream, the unexpected happens.
For mere seconds through a global blackout, the world loses power and everyone we meet, excluding Jack who was accidentally spared, is completely unaware that the Beatles and their music ever existed. Seizing this opportunity, Jack introduces the Beatles music as his own and is proclaimed an industry genius.
The story then changes gears as we follow Jack’s journey from this point forward. Patel, with an earnest and light-hearted touch, portrays not only Jack’s torment and guilt over his dishonesty but also the emotional costs attached to his newly found fame.
Patel is well supported by both Jack’s love interest and unwavering supporter Ellie, played by Lily James and by Jack’s industry facilitator, Ed Sheeran, playing himself in a film that remarkably parallels Sheeran’s own story of discovery.
See the story unfold in the dilemmas tackled dotted with the delights of hearing selections from the Beatles own musical gold mine.
The film’s pace is slow. The genre is mixed. The British accent is challenging but the music, played and sang by Patel tell himself, will be worth your while.