Leaving the theater, one of my movie companions remarked, “What a happy, feel-good movie.” And that’s a perfect way to summarize Yesterday. It’s sweet and endearing. You don’t think too deeply. (Although I wanted to for some aspects, the movie doesn’t give you time to.) And overall, at the end, all is right with the world. And sometimes that’s exactly what you need in a movie on a hot summer evening.
The premise of Yesterday is no secret to anyone who’s seen the trailer that’s been widely played across television: something in the world happens and, suddenly, only our wonderfully likable protagonist knows of the Beatles and their music. Fortunately, he also plays guitar and piano and sings decently. The rest of the film addresses how he (formerly a struggling singer-songwriter) handles this. Yes, a romantic side story plays out too, but this isn’t a rom-com. It’s much too sweet for that.
I loved the fact that throughout the movie, we learn of a couple of other things that seem to have been lost at that same moment in time as Beatles music. The beauty in this under-woven thread of the story is that there’s not a pattern or a seeming “grand scheme” in what went missing from the world. One thing is good that it’s gone; one thing is bad that it’s gone (Beatles music, of course); and another thing is pretty “meh” that it’s gone. I longed to have a side story that could have investigated this further (and even *try* to explain what happened or why those who retained memories of the lost things retained their memories), but the writer actually does the viewer a favor by never even going down that path even though the door open to it. This movie wasn’t about those things. And this protagonist had his hands full already.
Another part of the movie’s charm is in its cast. Other than Kate McKinnon, the stars are not widely-known (okay, at least by me) stars. And they seem to better represent the every-day person better than many casts do.
Perhaps my favorite part of the film is when the movie takes a trip (our protagonist literally taking that trip) to investigate what the other impact is of “the Beatles” never having existed. I totally thought I knew what was happening and where the writers were taking us, then, BOOM — hard turn in the plot that caught me delightfully off guard. Yes, I had to wipe a tear or two away at the beautiful gentleness of this part of the film. Through all of it, this is where the real magic lay for me.
It’s interesting to have watched Yesterday so soon after seeing Rocketman. The latter is truly about musical genius. The former — about mere happenstance (and a great memory for great music made by those with musical genius). Maybe at the end of the day, then, Yesterday provides a splendid commentary on when which talent needs to be shared — and how — while also noting what sacrifices are made (and must be made) when it’s actual genius that’s being shared versus mere happenstance.
Yes, Yesterday is a happy, feel-good film and well worth a summer’s evening.