The logic of Yesterday hinges itself on a single, tenuous argument that the music of The Beatles would be able to succeed in a mainstream audience of any generation. However, the film also conflates this with the idea that their music is transcendent of generational tastes. As such, the fickleness of the modern music industry is conveniently pushed aside so that Yesterday can tell a more elaborately personal story.
After Jack Malik suffers an accident during a worldwide blackout, he wakes up to discover that everyone in the world has forgotten who the Beatles are. Previously an unsuccessful musician, he takes what he remembers of their music and claims it as his own. And just like most aspiring songwriters, his early audiences do not express much interest in his stolen songs.
Eventually, Jack is swept up into the world of fame after Ed Sheeran discovers him on a local television show. Yes, Ed Sheeran, played by none other than Ed Sheeran in a performance that serves little purpose other than allowing us to see him lampoon himself onscreen. Sheeran is depicted as the height of contemporary popular music, so after Jack comes out on top in a songwriting competition against him, the film believes it has made its point – the songs of the Beatles are far better than anything coming out of today’s music industry.
I do not doubt the validity of this, but realistically the success of the Beatles came down to more than just their songwriting. Releasing a Beatles song today would be like George Lucas releasing the original Star Wars movie in the twenty-first century. Both are still brilliant, if a little primitive, but the likelihood of it being able to propel itself into the uppermost echelons of 21st century pop culture is a little unlikely. This is less of a comment on the quality of the product than on how cultural expectations of art and music have shifted over generations. And of course, some credit must also be given to the distinct image that the Beatles carved out for themselves, and how much of their content was in response to the specific cultural changes that were taking place during the latter half of the twentieth century.
The music industry that Yesterday depicts is a meritocracy that guarantees quality is rewarded with a proportionate amount of success. Though this isn’t something I wanted to get too bogged down in while watching the film, my full acceptance of this may have been a little easier if characters weren’t referring to his music as “the best of his generation” so quickly after his rise to fame. While it may be possible to accept that the Beatles’ music found an audience the second time round, the unquestioning mainstream worship of it by a cynical modern society pushes any suspension of disbelief a little too far.
All of these criticisms of Yesterday’s plausibility may be entirely redundant though, since it becomes clear not too far in that this “what if” scenario isn’t actually its driving force. Instead the film sets its sights on more private, romantic matters in Jack’s life, specifically his relationship with his girlfriend-turned-manager, Ellie. Their love story is a little more familiar than we might expect in an otherwise surreal movie, painting the couple as wannabe lovers who are kept apart by the lures of fame and wealth. In these roles, Himesh Patel and Lily James capably bring out the charm in Richard Curtis’ screenplay, and allow brief moments of humour and personal tension to flourish onscreen between their characters.
At times Curtis tries to bring the same level of suspense to the film’s broader plot beats as Jack tries to navigate his fame and suppress the truth about his music. But in the end, these attempts to subvert our expectations in favour of sentimental ruminations over Beatlemania are largely unsatisfying. As a result, any genuine threats to Jack’s secrets are almost non-existent, and this whole subplot regarding the fragility of his fame is rendered pointless. In theory, this secrecy plot thread should have been what distinguishes Yesterday from any other rags-to-riches narrative, and yet Curtis’ resistance to letting it fully develop prevents it from becoming a truly exciting film.
In a touching scene towards the end, Jack reckons with the legacy of the Beatles in its purest form, uncorrupted by fame and fortune. There he finds a deep appreciation of humanity, tranquillity, and simplicity, tying his journey back to the deep passion and love embedded in the Beatles’ lyrics and music. Though this direct engagement with their core philosophy is a satisfying development, it comes disappointingly late in the film and consequently feels more like a passing thought than a conclusive thesis statement.
Although another version of this movie could have been a more nuanced critique of the Beatles’ success, Yesterday still thrives where it sets its focus on the deeply intimate interactions between Jack and Ellie. The Beatles’ music is merely incidental, and is predominantly used to set the tone for Jack’s rise to fame through instrumental underscoring and live performances. As such, the film often feels as if it could have substituted in any other great band of the twentieth century and evoked a similar sentimental reaction. Regardless, Yesterday still manages to save itself in its more soulful moments, offering some warmth and humour to an otherwise plain affair.
