Yesterday

Yesterday

Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a struggling singer-songwriter with mediocre talent and a near extinguished career. One night, while riding home on his bike he is hit by a bus. At the exact same moment, a solar flare causes a barely perceptible shift in reality. Malik wakes up to a world in which The Beatles never existed and he is the only one who remembers them. He can now lay claim to some of the greatest songs ever written. It’s an interesting conceit that garners a few laughs, but it’s a much bigger concept than the filmmakers realise and it becomes clear fairly quickly that they don’t know where to go with it.

The plot is helped a little by a surprisingly funny, self-effacing Ed Sheeran (playing himself); the loveable if buffoonish roadie, Rocky (Joel Fry) and the delightfully nasty Debra Hammer (Kate McKinnon) as Malik’s American agent. Lily James feels inconsequential as Malik’s manager, friend and wannabe more, Ellie.

It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but they should have just let it be.

★★ ½

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