"I've Just Seen a....Film?"

Rating: 7/10 (4 July 2019)

I looked forward to "Yesterday" with great anticipation, not because I'm a huge Beatles or Danny Boyle fan, but because the British make marvellous "little" films about rock and roll. Witness "Still Crazy", "That's Be the Day / Stardust" and "Sing Street". The premise is interesting, the characters all seemed real and Himesh Patel looked like he could really play the guitar. And that scene in the trailer when he sings "Something" on the Corben Show...oh wait. That wasn't in the movie after all(??). Having just left the theatre to catch a matinee showing, I've got say I am a bit disappointed. The music was great, as expected. I l love the straight covers and the neo-punk version of "Help". But..it's the Beatles after all. The acting is first rate on all levels, and the inside record industry humour hits the mark. So where does "Yesterday" not work? It's the plot, that petty film device that makes celluloid magic seem almost like real life. It's that element that makes super-heroes and super-villains and web-slinging crime fighters seem almost plausible. Maybe ET's really are out there, and what if we could time travel or make ourselves shrink to the size of an ant. I was looking forward to the explanation of how the Beatles, and other things, just never happened. Just some kind of half boiled rubbish about post-concussion syndrome or exploding supernovas would have worked. But really, aside from a throw away one liner early in the film, it was not mentioned. That was a let down. Some plot lines, which I won't give away, were just left hanging, as if someone forgot to roll reel 6.
There was an awesome scene near the end with the return of a legend, but that was really the only scene that might endure as a classic. There were other moments that came close, but most just didn't hit the mark. Still, an entertaining night out, and great memories for Beatles fans. But would I see it again? "Not a Second Time". Yes, you can add that song reference to the others you will see in virtually ever review of "Yesterday".