Yesterday Review: A must watchable family entertainer story with high expectations

Yesterday

Director - Danny Boyle
Starring - Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Ed Sheeran
Running time -116 minutes
Certificate - TBCRating - 3.5/5

Review: Yesterday is basically a feature-length version of Gary's habit of claiming credit in the past for popular songs, solely focused on The Beatles. Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is at his wit's end trying to make it as a singer-songwriter. After playing 'gigs' to his small group of family and friends, he decides to call it quits, much to the dismay of his childhood friend and now manager Ellie (Lily James). Soon after, a blackout envelops the globe in darkness, and Jack is hit by a bus on his way home. He wakes up to find that no one in the world remembers The Beatles or their songs. Jack uses this opportunity to launch his career as a musician, while his conscience eats away at him.

Story: A struggling singer wakes up after an accident to discover he is the only person in the world to have heard of The Beatles and their music. After a bus accident during a freak worldwide blackout, Jack wakes up in a world where The Beatles never existed, leaving him with a moral dilemma. He rips off their songs to achieve the stardom he's tried to get his entire life.

The writing, and, ultimately, direction fall under the weight of living up to high expectations, leaving you with a few surprises; not all of them entirely pleasant. The film promising nor are there any attempts at reason either, because, why bother with logic when Love is All You Need. While it may or may not please fans of The Beatles, "Yesterday" is a breezy, fun watch with ample charm.

Danny Boyle has a ear for great music, and Trainspotting was his breakthrough. The soundtracks were a testament to UK's alternative music legacy. Yesterday is also a melodious journey, the evergreen songs providing a link between the past and the present.

Himesh Patel is quite convincing as Jack. Like most of us, he has grown up with this band, and he cannot accept the fact that Strawberry Fields Forever has ceased to exist. He snaps at his parents (the very impressive Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal) for saying Let Him Be instead of Let It Be. Ellie is Jack's anchor, and Lily James rules in most of the frames. We loved Kate McKinnon as the insensitive and power-hungry manager.

By the time it's heartwarming climax comes around (with a big public declaration, naturally), Yesterday will have won you over again. You'll leave the cinema with a full heart, tears in your eyes and singing Beatles songs all the way home.