One Day Meets Beatles: Yesterday's Charming Balance And Music Saves The Lackluster Finish

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2019)

We all know music and many of us love it without so much a whim so long as we get the tracks we love. The artists who work to make music often are recognized more for their abuse of money and fame, rather than the motivation behind their music. So what would happen if you could be that artist you admire so much? What if you could take credit for their work and nobody had a clue they even existed? Well that's where tonight's movie comes in, and yours truly is here to cover the film to let you know whether or not the film is worth a check out. Let's get started as tonight we look at:
Movie: Yesterday (2019)
Director:
Danny Boyle
Writers:
Jack Barth (story by), Richard Curtis (screenplay)
Stars:
Himesh Patel, Lily James, Sophia Di Martino
LIKES:
Charming
Fun
Good Covers
Decent Comedic Relief
The "cameo"
The Artistic Messages
The Love Story
The Acting
DISLiKES:
Trailers spoiled Much
Kate McKinnon's Extreme Character
Other Secondary Characters Lost
A Little Preachy
Not Quite The Revelation/Tension I thought
SUMMARY:
Much like Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle's work once again manages to capture a charming tale that holds so much in the simplistic story telling. Yesterday was able to bring a lot of fun into the tale, taking the idea of living life as a rock star and using the covers, which are of a good quality, to maximize much of the Beatle's legacy without the masters themselves being present. Despite the seriousness of the movie, Yesterday is funny, selecting a drier, English wit that is occasionally spritzed with some American antics including several cameos that are fun to see. However, Boyle's accomplishment also is finding a way to incorporate the true film art style by sampling some artistic messages into the love story at hand. Yesterday's alternate reality is awe inspiring in terms of pulling the blinds of fandom down to reveal the moral testing sacrifices that the music celebrity world requires, managing to test the boundaries of love without diving too far in Hallmark territory. And it's actually thanks to the acting that I was able to become entranced by the magic of this film. There are plenty of actors to talk about, but in reality it's Patel and James that take center stage, each presenting balanced performances that work in tandem and craft the tale that many will enjoy, again making a believable romance story.
Yet there are a few limitations for me that I have to say I was surprised to see, at least for some of them. One thing that is not quite a shocker is how much the trailers have given away in the mass franchising, with many key parts and comedy hits revealed in the television spots. Amidst the predictability, Yesterday starts to lose some of its balance in terms of several decisions they made with the characters. One thing is Kate McKinnon, the comedic queen holds the same personality quirks that people loved, but for me her style of comedy was forced and a little too extreme for the tone this movie set. It's SNL like presentation worked sometimes, but like a few Sheeran moments felt out of place from the components I liked. And much like many films, Yesterday's secondary characters we are introduced to sort of feel lost to the layered storytelling, dropped in the background for more comedic one liners. Sure a bit realistic, but again I'm about utilizing the characters as much as you can. Oh well, I guess that decisions goes with the themes of the movie about fame vs everything else, which although artistically presented sometimes got a bit too after school special for me. However, the biggest "let down" so to speak was the lack of mind-blowing, or even suspenseful, revelations that the trailers suggest lied in the wings of this mystery. Yesterday's concept is interesting, so you were hoping for some secret to be revealed that would not sweep the film off of the beautiful presentation he put together. Not the case, for the concept sort of fizzles out in favor of pursuing the character arc stories that were built in the 2 hours.
Overall, Yesterday worked for me and was fun to watch. A beautiful balance of love, music, and charming artistic quality, Boyle proves to still have the eye for alternative storytelling. It's an entertaining film with a lot of heart that many should enjoy and I feel the acting performances and direction give you the characters you want to invest your time in. There are some forced moments into the movie, primarily in altering the comedy to add a little more moisture to the drier comedy, but it's really the lack of that giant revelation punch at the mystery that really stood out for me in terms of areas to improve. Still, the charming tale is one that can be enjoyed in theater, but the fact it doesn't have enough flash bang boom components means that a home viewing is most likely in your future.
My scores are:
Comedy/Fantasy/Music: 8.0
Movie Overall: 7.0