Yesterday

I was always told that there would be someone who came along that was a lot better than me, and you are definitely better than me Jack."  Ed Sheeran in Yesterday

Two of the most interesting credits on the film Yesterday would seem to be diametrically opposed: Writer: Richard Curtis and Director: Danny Boyle.  Both men are about the same age and work primarily in the British film industry but there is where the similarities stop.  Most of Curtis’ films are romantic comedies in which an ordinary person ends up with someone who would by societal standards would be considered unattainable.  Often the higher profile person finds his or her better nature by being involved with the protagonist, who has a loyal set of quirky friends.   Usually one friend in particular is a misfit but the protagonist benefits in the end by putting up with him or her.  The climax of these films usually show one party finding the courage to declare his or her love for the other.  Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Love Actually and About Time are some of his best known works.  While I tend to naturally resist standard romantic comedies Curtis’ films are so charming and the English characters have such inventive dialogue that I usually savor them.  I also appreciate Curtis’ positive take on humanity and his use of music.  If I had to pick a favorite it would be About Time, which Curtis directed.

Danny Boyle has had a varied career but I have not seen many of his films due to a general distaste for most of the ones I have seen.  Boyle’s films can be overloaded with fast cut and disorienting camera work.  The main characters in his films seem to suffer greatly, usually for their own sins.  Shallow Grave seemed like an overly gruesome update of Hitchcock’s film Rope. A Life Less Ordinary Ordinary was a ponderous romance with a supernatural take that did not work at all.  127 Hours told a compelling story but I found the editing too frenetic.  For some reason the lead character’s isolation was overly disturbing even though I generally like survival stories. I never saw either Trainspotting film since I do not like films about drugs and I thought they would be too graphic.  Someday I will watch Slumdog Millionaire but when faced with the chance to see that and something else I always picked the alternative.  I saw a few minutes of The Beach on TV and turned it off.  However I did enjoy Steve Jobs because Aaron Sorkin’s typically intelligent script gave it a clean three act structure and a single setting for each act.  Boyle’s montages in between the acts were fitting as they informed the audience of what happened between each act and also reflected the crazy rate at which technology develops.

In 2018 Boyle was announced as the director for Bond 25, now called No Time to Die, which I did not welcome.  I had no desire to see a Bond film with feverish camerawork (a la Quantum of Solace) or ramped up editing (a la Die Another Day).  When Boyle left the project a few months later I was relieved.  I knew it would likely delay the film but I would rather wait a few more months for a great Bond film than quickly get one I might not enjoy.

The announcement of Boyle on the Bond film brought a little more coverage to the film he was starting at the time.  Yesterday tells the story of a young struggling musician in England, named Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), who after a brief world blackout seems to erase the history of certain events and cultural icons, becomes the only person who remembers the Beatles.  As Jack knows their music intimately he propels his own career by promoting Beatles music as his own.  The first half deals with the buildup of Jack’s career.  The second balances his success with the guilt that the music is not his, and his realization that his fame is keeping him from the woman who has always loved him, Ellie (Lily James).

As always, expect some spoilers here:

I was unfamiliar with Himesh Patel before this film.  Patel has to show several colors in this part.  There is comic frustration in scenes like the festival where Jack is playing for kids and or the perfectly crafted scene in which he tries to play Let It Be for his parents.  Then he has to play both his increasing guilt and heartache which is the price of his success.  Jack has a genuine love for the Beatles and this affection combined with his musical talent which allows him to become successful.  Curtis and Boyle do tip the scales a little by making it clear repeatedly that Jack is not making money yet and comes clean right before he is due to do so.  Jack is obviously limited as a writer as The Summer Song is a deliberately mediocre tune with little melody and lackadaisical lyrics.  Patel looks funny when he loses his teeth which I feel he gets fixed far too early and is believably flustered when no one else recognizes the Beatles tunes.  I think he should have balanced this moment with more appreciation for the gift of the beautiful guitar, though perhaps it plays into the larger theme of Jack never truly noticing how much Ellie cares for him at this stage.  More crucially Jack needs to find his place in this alternate world and finds that fame has its price.

Boyle edits some out some of the darker sides that come out of Jack when he becomes famous, such as a one night stand he has in Russia and a serenade of a woman on a TV show to keep Ellie as his only female focus. 

Lily James has broken out with some varied roles in the last few years.  The first film in which I truly became aware of her was in was Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again in which she played the younger version of Meryl Streep’s character from the original, Donna.  The freshness and vitality James brings to the role makes Donna her own while still feeling in step with Streep’s work as Robert DeNiro did with Vito Corleone in The Godfther Part II, even though James does not look much like Streep.  Only later did I realize that I had already seen Lily James in Cinderella and more recently, as Winston Churchill’s secretary (and sometimes conscience) in The Darkest Hour.  A year or so later I saw Baby Driver and again did not recognize James as Baby’s fiercely devoted love interest until deep into the film.  For someone with such striking looks it is impressive that she can disappear into so many roles.  The one quality she seems to carry over in her roles is a sense of decency which makes her a perfect fit for Ellie, the optimistic supporter of Jack, because she is in love, though that is challenged by his sudden fame.  She dances enthusiastically and beams during many of the musical sequences but balances it with a sadness that first Jack does not notice her and later that she cannot be with him she has enough pride to know that a relationship would not work with Jack’s current lifestyle.  Essentially Ellie loves Jack’s music but not his fame as she knows that can change him.  James (a little like Michelle Pfeiffer in Frankie and Johnny) is little too attractive to be believable as someone Jack never noticed but James uses a frizzy haircut and casual clothing to draw less attention to her appearance. 

The film also stars Joel Fry as Rocky, Jack’s friend who is another Curtis well-intentioned misfit, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Sal as the parents Jack can never quite connect with.  This is presented in a comic way but plays a big role as they are unable to help with Jack’s dilemma.  Ed Sheeran plays a very amiable version of himself and obviously agreed to be the butt of several jokes.  SNL’s Kate McKinnon is Debra, who becomes Jack’s manager.  Usually I enjoy McKinnon’s dry comic tones but Debra is a little too direct to be credible with lines like “Are you ready to drink from the poisoned chalice” and “In the name of money; stop!”  While the film is comedic it also has a lot of heart and this character needed to show something other than greed.  I did however savor the moment in which Debra savagely puts down Jack’s attempt to produce "Summer Song".  

The element that makes this film memorable of course is the use of the Beatles music.  Musical films have the potential to capture the powerful synthesis of music and images.  If the music can connect with an audience, who is captive and unable to change the station even an average film can seem special and a good film can feel great.  I find the film Dirty Dancing fairly one dimensional but the Time of Your Life sequence is uplifting (even though the music feels out of place for a 60s set film) and its placement at the end of the story is what I think turned the film into the success that it became.  I was enjoying the film Begin Again a few years ago but was completely moved by the final scene in which Adam Levine sings Lost Stars as Keira Knightly and Mark Ruffalo take the next steps in the lives.  Curtis himself used "All You Need Is Love" in a wedding scene in Love Actually.

Yesterday brings Beatles music to life again the way that Jack introduces it to a public that has largely never heard it.  I was born soon after they broke up and it was recent enough that it was a constant in my youth.  My kids have heard because I occasionally play it but this film allowed them to connect to it without any prior preconceptions.  Jack and the film proves how powerful and timeless the Beatles music is.  The choice of "Yesterday" as both the title of the film and the first song speaks to Jack’s appreciation of their music and of a song that is far beyond his capabilities as a writer, though obviously not as a performer.  Boyle has fun explaining the pause in "She Loves You".  Jack uses "The Long and Winding Road" to cover up his inadequacies as a writer and his guilt in presenting it as his own feeds the performance.  One of the best crafted scenes is when Jack tries to perform “Let It Be” for his parents in which he just wants them to discover it but keeps getting interrupted.  His parents have probably been through similar moments in the past and only have a polite faith in his ability although they are trying to be supportive.  This scene and the brief scene with them before Jack performs “Help” as a punk rock song, (a moment which fit the mood of the scene although I felt it killed the heart of the original song), is what leads Jack to seek out the still surviving John Lennon.

Robert Carlyle portrays Curtis’ and Boyle’s version of Lennon in this universe as a simple man who almost appears angelic with his pale complexion, clothes and the isolated setting.  He allows Jack to no longer feel like a fraud because he has lived a full life and gives Jack a very Curtis like type of advice which fuels Jack’s third act decision.  Patel’s performance captures of Jack’s wonder of meeting his childhood hero, who likely died before he was born.  Curtis and Boyle are wise to have this be the only Beatle in the film as the moment would be diluted if Paul or Ringo also turned up.  

Boyle has one excellent touch in which he repeatedly inserts shots of Jack googling something each time someone does not recognize one of his cultural references.  Then it will cut right back to the scene in question as if Jack has somehow stepped away, checked it and came back.  Interestingly although the film focuses on the Beatles, it could also be about the lack of Coca Cola or Harry Potter.  There is a deleted scene in which instead Ellie remembers Harry Potter but Jack does not which could a very different interpretation if some people remember some items and other do not.

Ed Sheeran’s song “One Life” appropriately plays over the scene in which Jack and Ellie go back to her house.  Given Sheeran’s presence in the film this is more fitting than if a Beatles tune was used here because it also feels as if he has brought them together.  Ellie gives a priceless look to Jack at the door which is a mix of adoration and seduction.

The film ends with Jack bringing the Beatles music to children with the song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" over the perhaps more obvious choice "Yellow Submarine".  "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" has more of a beat and crucially includes the lyric “life goes on”.  Jack seems to be teaching at a private school so has found success but more importantly is bring people joy with music and is ensuring it remains relevant to future generations.  Also we see Jack and Ellie now have married and have two kids and seem to relish their lives.  All of the other characters are briefly shown also enjoying life and the Beatles music thanks to Jack.  Immediately afterwards the credits begin to roll with the actual Beatles recording of “Hey Jude” which feels extra poignant as it is the only time we actually hear the group themselves.

Yesterday shares one detail with About Time.  In About Time Domhnall Gleeson never tells his wife about his ability to travel through time, though he eventually stops using it.  In this film Jack never truly explains the alternate timeline to Ellie.  Is Curtis saying that we need to keep our biggest secrets from our loved ones in order to be happy or there another message here?  The fact that in both cases it is a man keeping the full truth from a woman makes it a little uncomfortable.

In conclusion the combination of Boyle’s energy and Curtis’ heart and the Beatles’ music make Yesterday a fine experience.  Soon, I promise I will get to Slumdog Millionaire. ****