For such an unusual and fun premise Yesterday somehow manages to atrociously butcher the execution of the idea, and then falls into a generic and trite romantic comedy

Rating: 2/10 (8 July 2019)

While I had my reservations going into Yesterday, I figured Boyle's direction and the cool premise would at least keep it enjoyable, if not perfect. As I've been thinking about it, there truly isn't a single element of the movie that I feel positively about, from the big ideas down to minor details. Let's get the obvious and ridiculous easy frustration out of the way: the cool premise is completely ruined by the worst execution of an idea I've ever seen. If Boyle had just implied that it was some fantastical force and left it vague, that would've been viable, if still not totally satisfying. Instead, he shows us plenty of effects of it while eschewing any attempt at an explanation, leaving it as a laughably absurd idea that couldn't possibly be explained. Somehow, the power goes out all around the world (weird, but ok - maybe some massive EMP?) and when it comes back on, not only does nobody remember the Beatles (or cigarettes, or Coke, or Oasis, or Harry Potter), but all physical evidence of them no longer exists. That on its face was enough for me to start doubting Boyle - sure, maybe electronic evidence could've been removed, but how could people's memories all be edited, and how could the billions of pieces of physical evidence go away instantly? Then, it's taken one step further: somehow, Jack (and two other random people) remember everything. If the movie centers on this one guy having this information nobody else remembers, there has to be at least some reasoning for why he matters or how that would happen, but there is none. Honestly, the movie seems disinterested in playing with its interesting premise beyond showing random cultural things that are removed for gags.
So the premise was horribly mangled, you say, but maybe if you just suspend disbelief and accept that this did somehow happen, maybe it would be a fun movie? If only that were the case. While the plot and other elements of the movie aren't awful, they range between disappointing to mediocre. Every character is completely one-dimensional and uninteresting beyond the single thing they are known for. Even Jack, who we see some ethical questioning and eventual development from, is a fairly simplistic and passive protagonist. Mandi, his manager, is an especially frustrating and unrealistic character as a purely greedy, uninteresting agent. I thought the movie would be much more of a love letter to the Beatles, as some reviewers had claimed, but I didn't get that sense at all. Yes, everyone lauded him as the greatest musical genius ever when he played their music, but we never really appreciated Jack's understanding of what makes their writing great or how it speaks to so many people. It's only a tribute to the Beatles so much as we hear their songs throughout, and doesn't honor their brilliance beyond just saying that Jack is apparently a genius.
I do wish the movie had gone deeper into the irony of Jack's greatness and the way our society portrays celebrities. I expected it to be much more self-aware in how Jack is just this ordinary dude who doesn't deserve to be famous more than anyone else, but who ends up as an icon. It would've been easy for him to get caught up in that fame, and while we see a couple scenes that focus on his inner turmoil in taking credit for the songs, he never seems willing to do anything about that or confide in anyone (which also seemed ridiculous), and his ultimate defining decision I would argue is driven not by honesty, but by love.
Which brings us to the predictable and rote rom-com that the movie devolves into in the third act. First, the notion that they've been best friends forever and seemingly have both always liked each other but never discussed it or either made any move is absurd. If Ellie had spent half her life waiting for him, why wouldn't she just broach the topic so they get on the same page? Then there's a classic frustrating change of heart, where Ellie said she was done and moving on when Jack chose music, but then he says he loves her and she comes crawling back, which reinforces troubling notions of her as a woman present in the plot to provide satisfaction to the man when he calls on her. The ending was extremely predictable - of course he finally declares his love for her and comes clean, and of course she's ready to jump right in his arms after saying she was moving on and seeing another guy (clearly just a plot device to force Jack to make a move and never seen as a real person). It never felt in doubt that they would end up together living happily ever after, and while it was nice to see their long time close friendship and support blossom into a relationship, their friendship throughout was strangely lacking in clear communication.
A couple other minor plot points that seemed like missed opportunities - when he wakes up remembering his concert where he plays Wonderwall, he remembers her there. I was sure he would ask her if she remembers that, and if so the song, to figure out how those memories were erased or confide everything in her, which would've been great. Instead, he wakes up to remember that he loves her (so literally nothing changes from the night before) and is frantic trying to catch her as though things monumentally shifted. Also, the John Lennon scene felt like a punch in the face with Boyle reminding us how horribly he ruined the premise. Honestly, after that scene it isn't even clear what the premise is. What does John Lennon remember doing with his life? Does he now remember some alternate universe where he just chilled out and was into art but never made music? He clearly doesn't remember the Beatles. His script was also fully heteronormative when it would've been so easy to be inclusive - why would you say something along the lines of "The point of life is telling a woman that you love her" rather than a person? Another very minor detail was the city names flashing across which were really fast and large, going in opposite directions, so very difficult to read and poorly done. The humor works okay - there are a couple funny moments, but I think there are just as many jokes that land completely flat or are overdone as to no longer be funny.
I wanted to like this movie more, but as I thought more about it and remembered more glaring weaknesses of it, I searched for redeeming qualities and struggled to find any. The acting is decent, and obviously it's nice to hear good Beatles songs, but everything about the movie and plot was a major letdown. I'm glad people seem more mixed to positive on it, as this is probably the most wasted potential I've ever seen in a movie, and even the simple rom-com elements were subpar.