Yesterday is one of those movies that sold me purely on the concept: after an accident, a guy wakes up in a world where The Beatles never existed, and he’s the only one that remembers them. He then starts to release The Beatles’ songs as his own, becoming a massive pop star. Of course, there’s a good deal of romance and drama sprinkled in, so I was all for it.
I enjoyed the movie a good deal, despite the fact that I’m not even into The Beatles (I can name like 2 or 3 songs). I love how the story creates moral and emotional dilemmas for Jack, our protagonist. A struggling musician, becoming one of the most beloved talents in the world is a dream come true, but at what cost? I mean, those aren’t his songs, people didn’t love him until he started stealing work. Would you rather be loved for putting on a facade, or just let people get to know the real you? Is it even stealing if the people don’t exist anymore?
Something I really appreciated about Yesterday was the fact that it asks the same questions that the audience does while watching. Despite being a massive fan of The Beatles, there’s no way Jack can remember every song they’ve ever released, word for word. There’s sequences where he racks his brain to remember how a chorus goes, or recall what specific notes to play. It also got me thinking, what artist do I know enough of to steal their work and pass it off as my own, should they vanish from existence? Idk, maybe Drake or Ariana Grande or somebody. It’s a fun conversation starter.
There’s a running joke in Yesterday that it’s not just The Beatles that no longer exist in this alternate reality, but other random and mundane things as well. This includes Coca-Cola and cigarettes. Both of those reveals are really fun, but what? I wish we were given some sort of explanation as to why those specific things were gone. What’s more, the movies ends with the mic-drop reveal that Harry Potter never existed in this world either. HUH?! That raises like… a million questions.
Every now and then, I’ll say that I’m “predisposed” to liking a movie. This means that the movie either stars or was made by somebody I really respect/adore. Lily James is in this movie, playing one of the supporting leads. God, I love Lily James, that love stemming from Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver and her charming performance as Debora. I knew going in that I would at least “like” the movie somewhat if Lily James was on the screen enough. She’s really good in the movie, giving our protagonist a harsh ultimatum.
Yesterday also does this thing where it subverts a lot of what viewers are expecting, but in a clever way. We find out during the movie that there are two other characters in the world that also remember The Beatles, and begin to follow Jack from a distance. The implication is that they’re going to out him and ruin his career, but it’s the exact opposite. Once they finally speak with him, they say that they’re just happy to have the music back out in the world being performed by a talented singer. It’s a fun “gotcha” moment for the audience.
I spent the entirety of Yesterday expecting one of the surviving real life members of The Beatles to show up. It’s another thing that the story keeps building you up for, as Jack even has a nightmare that he’s on a late night talk show where Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr show up and expose him for stealing their music. Instead of the real life members of the band showing up, we see an alternate universe version of John Lennon, one that had never been killed and was allowed to live a full life. It’s yet another clever twist on audience expectations.
The only real negatives I have to throw at Yesterday is that it can be a bit corny and cliche at times, but I’m down for some corniness and cliches in moderation, if they’re done right. I’d recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of The Beatles.
