Yesterday

I'm 26 years old and I've never really been a Beatles fan before. I knew who they were and how they are the greatest band of all time, but I never actually sat down and listened to their songs. Recently, while going through some personal hardships, I started listening to some of their songs and holy s***, I was blown away. So then I started going down the Beatles rabbit hole, watching interviews with them, reading news and of course listening to more of their music. I lost my younger cousin last year, he was only 20 years old, may he rest in peace. We grew up together and we were essentially brothers. And so reading about John Lennon made me feel the same way I did after losing my cousin. And then I heard about this movie. Having no real expectations, I watched it. This movie is a nice feel good movie. No crazy plot, no crazy action, just a simple premise with decent execution that gets the job done. That's all it really is. But to me, it felt almost like therapy. I felt some part of myself healing after watching this movie, so to me it feels special. I would recommend.

After being subjected to a number of films documenting the lives of musicians - most notably "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Rocketman" and "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story" - it is truly a pleasure to be presented with a film that sheds light on the work and life of an artist while not adhering to the strict (though desirable) biographical approach. That is exactly what makes the piece so marvellous; I came out of the cinema with a greater appreciation of The Beatles, and their music, through a fictional story that did not feature the four men we are familiar with at all. Quite often the film achieved my admiration for the band without me consciously noticing.

On another level, the film made a satire of the modern music industry. It revealed how the apparent "solo" artists are far from their titles; with huge teams of people pushing them in a preferred, and more commercial, creative direction, taking the musicians' creative power. This was done in a humorous light (as most themes are presented in the film). The romantic aspect of the film is evident from the beginning and is a dominant aspect of the story, possibly shifting the focus of the piece a little too much. However, it still helps provides a satisfying ending.

The film pays a great amount of respect in a fresh way while cleverly interweaving other conflicts.

I went into this wondering if they were going to explain the whole premise with it being a dream or such? Was he going to get caught and crucified for it? Was he going to get the girl, lose the girl? So many movies are fixated on realism and difficulties and negativity. Yes, he faces several difficulties. But, the movie is light and beautiful with fantastic music. If I want realism, I watch a documentary. This is what I go to the movies for. Really well done!

Movies like Yesterday aren't meant to challenge our intellect or keep us on the edge of our seats. They're mean to entertain without strain, and tap into our sense of feelgood and nostalgia.

That's exactly what Yesterday does, and it does it very well. The acting is spot on, the characters relatable, and the humorous moments well placed and paced.

The fabulous songs of the Beatles don't hurt either. Watch through the credits for the full version of "Hey Jude"

Don't judge Yesterday by the same yardstick as Endgame or Get Out and you might thoroughly enjoy it as I did

Among other things, specifically The Beatles would be strange, only of course if you were one of the very few who had prior knowledge of them. An interesting concept caused by a blackout phenomenon that is never explained; which is fine, as the goal is not to describe why, just what it would be like.

The music is fantastic obviously, and huge kudos to Himesh Patel for doing all his own singing. The movie is generally a feel good flick with an underlying love story. There's nothing else that is really spectacular about it, so to me this was a good movie made by one of the more creative filmmakers out there.

My favourite scene has to be near the end when our main character meets with that one specific musical icon in his old age. Makes one think how differently things in the world could be depending on some people's life choices.