Movie · 2019 · Comedy, Fantasy, Music, Romance · 1h 56m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.8/10 (695.5K ratings)
Everyone in the world has forgotten The Beatles. Everyone except Jack…
Overview
A struggling musician realizes he's the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles after waking up in an alternate reality where the group was forgotten.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.8/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Letterboxd: 2.92/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
Metacritic: 55
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Danny Boyle
Production
Working Title Films, Working Title Films
Cast
Himesh Patel, Lily James, Sophia Di Martino, Ellise Chappell, Meera Syal, Harry Michell, Vincent Franklin, Joel Fry, Michael Kiwanuka, Karma Sood, Gus Brown, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Karl Theobald, Alexander Arnold, Dominic Coleman, Ed Sheeran, Jane Seaborn, Nic Minns, Maryana Spivak, Justin Edwards
Curator Review
Verdict
A high-concept rom-com with a genuinely fun premise and a few charming performances, but the script leans too hard on sentiment and familiar beats. It works best as a breezy what-if fantasy for Beatles fans and viewers who enjoy soft-focus wish fulfillment, less so for anyone expecting sharp satire or a fully thought-through alternate reality.
Best for
Beatles fans
Viewers who like light fantasy-romance
Fans of feel-good British comedies
People who enjoy music-centered high concepts
Skip if
You want a smarter or more rigorous alternate-history story
You dislike schmaltz and obvious emotional beats
You’re not interested in Beatles nostalgia
You’re put off by product-placement-style celebrity cameos
Overview
Yesterday has a premise so instantly legible that it feels like a joke you’d pitch in a pub and then have to somehow turn into a feature film. The movie’s biggest asset is that it understands the emotional fantasy at the center of the idea: what if one person could claim the most beloved songs in pop history as their own? That hook gives the film a pleasant, easy momentum even when the plotting gets thin.
Worth noting
Danny Boyle brings enough visual energy to keep the concept from feeling completely static, and Himesh Patel gives the movie a likable, grounded lead performance. Lily James adds warmth and sweetness, which helps the film land as a romance more than a pure gimmick. The Beatles material is obviously the main attraction, and the movie knows how to let those songs do a lot of the heavy lifting.
Bottom line
Still, the film is more charming than clever. Its alternate reality raises questions it has no interest in answering, and the comedy often settles for broad, familiar beats. If you’re happy to let the concept wash over you, it’s an agreeable watch; if you want the premise pushed into something stranger or sharper, it may feel disappointingly safe.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Cosmo · 7470 likes
If the Beatles never existed, then what song plays at the end of Bee Movie??
sophie (3.5★) · 6257 likes
any amount of ed sheeran in a movie is too much ed sheeran
Patrick Willems (2.5★) · 4735 likes
(MILD SPOILERS)
The movie sets up a climax where he plays "Wonderwall" and then for some inexplicable reason it doesn't happen. If it did I'd give it an extra half star.
siobhan (2★) · 4127 likes
call it what it is: ed sheeran propaganda
maria (3.5★) · 3582 likes
nobody:
nobody ever:
absolutely no one:
not a breathing soul:
ed sheeran: “hey dude”