Yesterday Review
'Yesterday' is the light-hearted, entertaining Summer Song you've needed this season, but it's unfortunately a Hard Day's Night at the cinema for those after a little more
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| Himesh Patel and Lily James in 'Yesterday' (CREDIT: Universal Pictures/Working Title) |
by Jack Linsdell
So, with summer movie season firmly in full-swing, especially for Disney whose currently holding over 60% of this years domestic grosses (in North America) so far. However, Yesterday, the jukebox musical, rom-com written by Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, Love Actually) and directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting) that asks audiences to imagine a world without the Beatles has become somewhat a sleeper hit amongst the Disney blockbuster tentpoles - with a current worldwide cume of $100 million on a $26 million budget, possibly ending it's run with $120-150 million - more than quadrupling it's budget.
So, there's no question that it's been a big commercial success. And, this is largely because it's marketed (in a misleading way at that) as a musical, which is the one of the safest and commercially profitable genres in the marketplace currently amongst many horror, action and superhero flicks. Yes, having two heavyweights of British film, namely Curtis and Boyle, behind the movie didn't harm it either. There's no doubt that the pair have made a crowd-pleasing, extremely funny and loveable picture here, and the first thing to say is that you be guaranteed plenty of laughs, smiles and toe-tapping music. However, as a film overall it's a missed opportunity to explore such an intriguing premise and use one of the world's most beloved band's music. For those after a little more in the movies, this will sadly leave you a little cold and in a place of feeling bad for not liking it more.
Before I go any further, I want to mention I was actually part of the film as an extra at the Gorleston Beach Concert Scene (which occurs at the end of the second act) because the film was largely shot in and around Suffolk in the UK which is close to where I live. And, follow this link here to view the behind the scenes video I captured on that day of Boyle talking to the crowd of 6,000 and the filming for the concert scene on the beach - I've posted it on YouTube.
Anyways, back to the review. Let's start with the screenplay as this is where my issues lie with this picture. As an avid admirer and fan of Curtis's infamous previous work, with classics like Love Actually and Notting Hill continuing to give me pleasurer time after time, and his severely underrated and incredibly poignant, emotional rollercoaster that is About Time, which holds the record for the amount of times I've serious cried at a film, I went into this (justifiably) with high expectations. Yes, there are many exceptionally Curtis-esque scenes that standout like the train station café scene where Ellie gives Jack a choice about their relationship and when Jack keeps being interrupted by his parents when he's trying to play them one of "his" new songs. However, the reason (whether they know it or not) that the audience went to see the film was because they wanted to know the answer around the original and intriguing premise of why no one remembers the Beatles except this failing singer Jack Malik. Take away that premise, and I very much doubt it would have stood out amongst the competition. The fact that Curtis and co. did not address it at all (and in some places tried to do a corny halfway measure) doesn't work. It becomes a big hole, especially considering that Malik is asking the same question (and actually has no resolution to it like us). If Curtis hadn't of shown the change or the lights out moment and opened the film with him waking up in hospital into a world where no one remembers the Beatles then because the audience haven't seen the change of worlds he wouldn't need to answer these burning questions. For his pedigree of writer, it's such a basic principle he's failed to adhere too, I'm a little shocked to be honest.
Also, although Ellie's storyline is that she is unnoticed by Jack and there always had to an element of her remaining passive, so to speak, her character does become very reductive in many places and it's only testament to Lily James's performance (more on that in a minute) that allows her to really become someone who we are emotionally engaged in and with. Added to this, for the hefty $10 million (out of the $26 million budget) price paid to have the Beatles songs featured in this movie, it's a shame Curtis didn't actually use these songs as a narrative tool like Mamma Mia did for ABBA or Rocketman did for Elton John - they could have actually been a key part of moving the narrative forward or reflecting character feelings, however they become a novelty sideshow really.
Boyle's artistic style in his direction is not something I'm often a fan of (except in more real life films he's done like 127 Hours and Steve Jobs), but I have to say he did this one very well except for the odd random slanted angle. He certainly brought a sense of style and excitement to the picture that Curtis has admitted himself that he'd of been able to achieve if he'd of continued his streak of directing his own scripts, and credit to him Boyle for that. Let's move on to other positive notices, which are the performances. As ever, Lily James delivers such a spellbinding performance that really is of such immense quality that it overshadows everyone else (however excellent they are) and really has no right to be in a movie like this. She makes what would become an irrelevant and very anti-progressive female character become someone the audience actually cares about and listens too, and considering most of that wasn't on the page, that shows you what a rare talent she is. I've mentioned here and there about the group of 18-23 year old actresses that are in that rare expressionist group, and Lily, despite being in her 30's, also belongs to this club too. It's phenomenal stuff. However, making a pleasantly surprising debut into the field of movie acting is EastEnders star Himesh Patel who also does very well with the material he's given, but it's more than that. The demands of successfully pulling off that innocent, nobody persona and also a world famous pop star is no easy task and he does both with incredible skill and measure. Added to this, every song in this film is him singing, and singing live at that, and considering he isn't a singer per-say, his voice is well-tuned and fantastic to listen to. Other standouts include Kate McKinnon, Joel Fry as his untrusted friend and of course Ed Sheeran (although he's playing a glorified cameo of his own person to be honest).
Before I conclude, despite all my criticisms and shortcomings of this movie, warts and all it's still incredibly entertaining. As always Curtis nails the humour, especially those caused by conflicts between characters, and in my screening I and everyone else was going full-belly laughter throughout - the gags were connecting and people were being entertained on a surface level. If that's what you want from a movie, pure surface level entertainment then this delivers. However, I'd argue that it's the role of the filmmaker in these types of entertainment first movies to also provide a good film, which can satisfy all audience demographics and critics alike, and lead to a better post-theatrical lifespan too. Just look at how Christopher McQuarrie turned a entertainment first action series like Mission: Impossible into thus far two outstandingly made movies (Rogue Nation and Fallout), which has provided those that just want to see Tom Cruise rid a motorbike through oncoming traffic "entertainment only" audience members, but given everyone else a well-made, narratively sound movie with some emotional and political subtext sprinkled in for good measure. As an industry, every movie should be both well-made and entertaining, not just the latter. Yesterday should have been both.
However, this is a missed opportunity for Curtis considering the story, music, characters and talent (both in front of and behind the camera) he had at his fingertips and I'm intrigued to know if this was an off day or if he's indeed peaked. All said, go and see this one regardless. However, will this one be on your DVD self with other Curtis features? Probably not. Entertaining, but a missed opportunity, Yesterday will struggle to be remembered and loved tomorrow, despite it's noble attempts.
3/5 STARS
Anyways, back to the review. Let's start with the screenplay as this is where my issues lie with this picture. As an avid admirer and fan of Curtis's infamous previous work, with classics like Love Actually and Notting Hill continuing to give me pleasurer time after time, and his severely underrated and incredibly poignant, emotional rollercoaster that is About Time, which holds the record for the amount of times I've serious cried at a film, I went into this (justifiably) with high expectations. Yes, there are many exceptionally Curtis-esque scenes that standout like the train station café scene where Ellie gives Jack a choice about their relationship and when Jack keeps being interrupted by his parents when he's trying to play them one of "his" new songs. However, the reason (whether they know it or not) that the audience went to see the film was because they wanted to know the answer around the original and intriguing premise of why no one remembers the Beatles except this failing singer Jack Malik. Take away that premise, and I very much doubt it would have stood out amongst the competition. The fact that Curtis and co. did not address it at all (and in some places tried to do a corny halfway measure) doesn't work. It becomes a big hole, especially considering that Malik is asking the same question (and actually has no resolution to it like us). If Curtis hadn't of shown the change or the lights out moment and opened the film with him waking up in hospital into a world where no one remembers the Beatles then because the audience haven't seen the change of worlds he wouldn't need to answer these burning questions. For his pedigree of writer, it's such a basic principle he's failed to adhere too, I'm a little shocked to be honest.
Also, although Ellie's storyline is that she is unnoticed by Jack and there always had to an element of her remaining passive, so to speak, her character does become very reductive in many places and it's only testament to Lily James's performance (more on that in a minute) that allows her to really become someone who we are emotionally engaged in and with. Added to this, for the hefty $10 million (out of the $26 million budget) price paid to have the Beatles songs featured in this movie, it's a shame Curtis didn't actually use these songs as a narrative tool like Mamma Mia did for ABBA or Rocketman did for Elton John - they could have actually been a key part of moving the narrative forward or reflecting character feelings, however they become a novelty sideshow really.
Boyle's artistic style in his direction is not something I'm often a fan of (except in more real life films he's done like 127 Hours and Steve Jobs), but I have to say he did this one very well except for the odd random slanted angle. He certainly brought a sense of style and excitement to the picture that Curtis has admitted himself that he'd of been able to achieve if he'd of continued his streak of directing his own scripts, and credit to him Boyle for that. Let's move on to other positive notices, which are the performances. As ever, Lily James delivers such a spellbinding performance that really is of such immense quality that it overshadows everyone else (however excellent they are) and really has no right to be in a movie like this. She makes what would become an irrelevant and very anti-progressive female character become someone the audience actually cares about and listens too, and considering most of that wasn't on the page, that shows you what a rare talent she is. I've mentioned here and there about the group of 18-23 year old actresses that are in that rare expressionist group, and Lily, despite being in her 30's, also belongs to this club too. It's phenomenal stuff. However, making a pleasantly surprising debut into the field of movie acting is EastEnders star Himesh Patel who also does very well with the material he's given, but it's more than that. The demands of successfully pulling off that innocent, nobody persona and also a world famous pop star is no easy task and he does both with incredible skill and measure. Added to this, every song in this film is him singing, and singing live at that, and considering he isn't a singer per-say, his voice is well-tuned and fantastic to listen to. Other standouts include Kate McKinnon, Joel Fry as his untrusted friend and of course Ed Sheeran (although he's playing a glorified cameo of his own person to be honest).
Before I conclude, despite all my criticisms and shortcomings of this movie, warts and all it's still incredibly entertaining. As always Curtis nails the humour, especially those caused by conflicts between characters, and in my screening I and everyone else was going full-belly laughter throughout - the gags were connecting and people were being entertained on a surface level. If that's what you want from a movie, pure surface level entertainment then this delivers. However, I'd argue that it's the role of the filmmaker in these types of entertainment first movies to also provide a good film, which can satisfy all audience demographics and critics alike, and lead to a better post-theatrical lifespan too. Just look at how Christopher McQuarrie turned a entertainment first action series like Mission: Impossible into thus far two outstandingly made movies (Rogue Nation and Fallout), which has provided those that just want to see Tom Cruise rid a motorbike through oncoming traffic "entertainment only" audience members, but given everyone else a well-made, narratively sound movie with some emotional and political subtext sprinkled in for good measure. As an industry, every movie should be both well-made and entertaining, not just the latter. Yesterday should have been both.
However, this is a missed opportunity for Curtis considering the story, music, characters and talent (both in front of and behind the camera) he had at his fingertips and I'm intrigued to know if this was an off day or if he's indeed peaked. All said, go and see this one regardless. However, will this one be on your DVD self with other Curtis features? Probably not. Entertaining, but a missed opportunity, Yesterday will struggle to be remembered and loved tomorrow, despite it's noble attempts.
3/5 STARS
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