Imagine There’s No Beatles: Review of ‘Yesterday’

Did somebody say High Concept? After a conk on the head (during a mysterious global blackout, no less), Jack Malik, played by th talented Himesh Patel, awakens to a world that never knew The Beatles. He alone, it seems, is aware of their very existence. He even Googles them. Nothing!

Jack’s a musician, can play a few Beatles numbers, and cobble together a few more from memory. After a few minutes, he claims their catalog as his own and turns the world on its ear. He has a girlfriend named Ellie. Not a girlfriend, mind you — just a girl who’s a friend His supportive, faithful servant. I won’t spoil it by revealing the true nature of her feelings for Jack. She won’t either, sadly, and Jack is too dim to perceive them, himself, and so forward goes the tale.

The Beatles’ greatness has been a basic article of faith for all humans since the late Sixties. Those random smart guys who say they never really liked The Beatles? Get outa here. You’re not interesting. We’re all Beatle fans.

So why this reminder, this gag based on what we might be like without them? If it’s directed by the guy who directed Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle) and written by the guy who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral (Richard Curtis), why not?

The songs cleverly integrated into Jack’s journey to the top, and they’re artfully and carefully arranged. They are, in many cases, near faithful renditions that locate the heart of the songs without being too on-the-nose. And they’re fresh, a feat owed largely Patel as Jack. Danny Boyle said of Patel’s audition, “He sang with soul; you cannot manufacture it.”

There is more to the film than music, too. Sort of.

There’s the talented and relatable superstar Ed Sheeran, upon whom some of the story sort of depends. Chris Martin, of Coldplay, was apparently the first choice, but that might not matter much either way.

Kate McKinnon, who is herself decidedly not a one-trick pony, is given a one-trick role as the ball-busting L.A. agent Brenda. And she positively nails the same joke in every scene.

Jack has a doofy buddy name Rocky (Joel Fry). Rocky’s pleasant enough, but aside from a plot contrivance near the end that requires him to perform a small errand of sorts, it’s hard to say why he’s here.

There’s a running gag about a few other things missing or mixed-up according to the world-as-this-film-knows-it. Jack Googles those, too, and guess what. Try ordering a Coke. And, “Live! From New York! It’s… Thursday Night?” Etc.

Oh wait! In addition to the continuous heightening of the only-guy-who-remembers-The-Beatles premise, there’s a plot! Sort of. And it’s a Rom-Com! Sort of.

Our hero, you may recall, has that girl, Ellie, who appreciates and supports him. But damn if he doesn’t take her for granted. So much so, in fact, that he loses her when he gets distracted by his overnight world superstardom. And he’s lost her for good, or so it would seem, until he realizes that (wait for it) All you need is… Well, I won’t give away the ending. You’ll have to check out this “jukebox musical fantasy comedy film” for yourself.

Christien Shangraw is a writer and editor who lives in Brooklyn.