What a beautiful and lovely movie! Yesterday movie banks on an unusual plot to remind us that in a world of changing music, the classics should never be forgotten.
It hints on a plot where old and important things, things that base your life and that hold a special place in your heart, should be cherished forever. It depicts us a world without those things and makes you realize how name, fame, and money are all temporary, that only something as pure as love remains.
Those things are given a palpable shape in the form of The Beatles, an unfulfilled dream and unrequited love then connected to a common rosary of romance. What we have as a result is an amazing product that’s made even better by Danny Boyle‘s bedazzling direction.
The Direction of Yesterday Movie
I am a big fan of Danny Boyle’s direction. The way he plays around with his frames, skipping so many of them, to come directly to the point. There are no useless frames in his movies. Sometimes he experiments by slant angles, squeezing them in a montage.
The end result just turns out to be outright badass. Somehow he always manages to get away with it by breaking rules and being himself. Love it when he doesn’t play by the book. He is one of those reasons the filmmaking world experiments. So bloody brilliant!
Only in a minute of his movie, you can witness so many things happening. It is fast-paced but so apt that your brain doesn’t miss out on substance. You get the best quality content.
Also, it only becomes slow when it needs to be. It is only the dramatic bits that need utmost attention, and he literally stops for you to get in sync with the right emotions his characters are experiencing.
Romance is not dead
I think Danny does ample justice to the genre of romance. He is not cheesy like many other directors are. His storytelling abilities with the frame are simply ingenious.
Moving on to the actors, both Himesh Patel and Lily James have done a fabulous job in the movie. The latter is outright extraordinary. She is vocal with her expressions whereas there are times Himesh feels a tad weak since he doesn’t carry a very expressive face.
Both the actors share a chemistry that’s simply enthralling and relatable. They primp and preen their characters, making them very real, and crisp so much that you begin to root for them toward the end.
They make you forget that Jack and Ellie are just two characters they play in the movie. That’s the power they are able to project onscreen.
The Story and Theme of Movie Yesterday (Spoilers)
Banking on a bizarre and unusual storyline written by Jack Barth and Richard Curtis, the movie puts you in a place where the whole world has suddenly forgotten about The Beatles.
For an aspiring singer like Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), it serves as a golden opportunity since the power surge that took out all the good things from the world, failed to work on Jack since he was hit by a bus. He ends up being a glitch in the system. What a genius plot!
Forging his way into using all that he remembers, he becomes the next Beatles. He uses their songs that no one has any memory of, calling them his own, to step up the ladder of success.
What is particularly the most interesting bit in the movie is the fact that initially no one is amused by his songs, which were basically the best of The Beatles. It just goes on to show that even if you were the next Beatles, the world today would be indifferent to you.
Even if you were Shakespeare, or Michelangelo, or Beethoven for that to matter, and were trying to leave your mark on the world, people would still keep walking with their heads dug into their mobile phones. To them, you would be just another bum dying to get heard or seen. They would be least interested in your talents.
However, it doesn’t last long, as talent barely stays hidden as one fine day, Jack Malik is out in the open as the guy who sings amazing songs.
Screenplay and Music
The screenplay of Yesterday movie is written by Richard Curtis, which is quite shrewd and sharp-witted. He is funny with his dialogues which makes every conversation in the flick very interesting.
The movie banks strongly on some unadulterated British humour that uplifts the flick. A lot of sarcasm flying in the air literally at every juncture.
Some genius writing at play that makes the movie very riveting. It puts the right word at the right moments, making it very modish, hip and chic.
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Remembering The Beatles
You might think why just The Beatles though? But you must read The Beatles as all Things Old, Gold and Pure. Everything that we had once lived through, and seen, not just heard about.
So the musical powerhouse – The Beatles are picked to let the world today, those who don’t know them, wallow in their endearing music.
Why should The Beatles never be forgotten? Primarily because that was art, so carefully crafted for a generation of lovers by some of the greatest artists who trooped in the past.
Yesterday movie is a tribute to them. They do a lot of justice to the forgotten band.
Ed Sheeran
The movie bolsters itself on the musical world, and ropes in none other than Ed Sheeran as a competition. When you place something good against the best, that’s when you can really judge it for what it is.
That’s why Mr. Ed was chosen. He does justice to his role. A singer, blown away by another, realizing that he is nothing when tacked against something as legendary as the remarkable songs of The Beatles.
Another actor who brings something different to the table is Kate McKinnon. Her character of Debra Hammer would bring out the most guffaws. She is simply badass!
The Final Verdict
The look or feel of Yesterday movie is not very theatrical but inclined more towards reality. However, towards the climax, the movie starts to rappel towards the former enclave.
While some directors steer towards some good ranting in the end as a climax, Danny chooses to stay old school. Putting something cliched eventually like showcasing Ellie’s face on the big screen in order to admit loving her. Even though it becomes cliched and cheesy, it still remains quite frankly very romantic.
In the end, you might say that the movie picks plagiarism as its main theme, to begin with, a genre that has been many a time depicted before, but then if you really look at it, it is also filled with a lot of optimism. It tries to say copy or not, everything good in life should be cherished.
That being said, there are no villains in the movie, but situations that turn a hero into a villain and then helps him realize it all by himself. Kind of everyone’s life, don’t you think?
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Check out the trailer of Yesterday movie here:
Yesterday
Pros
- Ingenious Direction
- Outstanding writing
- Pays tribute to The Beatles
- Humorous and Fun
Cons
- Cliched at times
