A delight

Rating: 9/10 (19 July 2019)

Jack Malik is an enthusiastic but unsuccessful singer/songwriter from Lowestoft, supported endlessly by his biggest, and often only, fan and would-be manager (and old school friend and wistful unrequited lover) Elle. Then, one night, strange events result in Jack being the only person in the world who remembers The Beatles. And The Beatles' songs prove to be just as memorable when Jack delivers them as they were in some other reality. But is Jack doing the right thing, achieving success on the back of someone else's talent, even if those people never showed that talent in this reality?
There are three narrative strands running through this movie. One, Jack's rags to riches success story. Two, the morality of trading on stolen songwriting. And, three, the underlying love story. All three work, and Richard Curtis' script is as gentle but sharp as one might expect it to be. The emotional heart of the film is the love story, but the dramatic heart is Jack's ever-increasing guilt, and the elements which factor into the resolution of this are enormously satisfying. And they brought tears to this old Beatles fan's eyes.
All the cast are good. Himesh Patel delivers the songs pleasingly, but all the supporting cast excel in, yes, giving support, especially an uncredited (and unrecognisable) Robert Carlyle.
I found this film enormously satisfying.