Directed : Danny Boyle
Writer: Richard Curtis (Screenplay), Jack Barth & Richard Curtis (Story)
Starring: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Sophia Di Martino
Tagline: Everyone in the World Has Forgotten the Beatles. Everyone Except Jack….
Trivia: When Jack flies back from Los Angeles to Liverpool, the camera lingers on the front of the airport building which reads, “Liverpool International Airport.” In reality, the sign on that building reads, “Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Finally got around to see Yesterday. When you see the name Richard Curtis on a script it would probably be all about love, actually.
There has been may rants about him as the poster child for white male dominance in the film industry, and many of his movies might not pass the Bechtel test, but that does not take away, for me, the joy in watching his movies (over and over again). Yesterday is just another gem in his repertoire.
Even though people might think that it is all about What-If you woke up one day and your icon people were not known, or about just another love story, for me the movie was all about a debate on what would you rather be happy or successful.
What I truly loved was the solution he has written into the script, which is, let’s have BOTH.
For me the movie is all about exploring what it means to be successful. And how do you define success. Is it having the love of your life by your side, or is it all about the money and the fame.
It was refreshing to see a movie where success is defined by the level of your happiness and not by what you have achieved. That for me is worth the whole movie.
Himesh Patel, not your standard Richard Patel Protagonist, which makes me curious to see if it was written into the script or was a casting decision… gives a fantastic performance of the usual Curtis male character lead – confused, unaware and tongue tight when it comes to romantic relationships, to the point that if you close your eyes you would think you are hearing Hugh Grant at “Four Wedding and a Funeral”.
Lily James, as always, is her cheerful next-door-girl cuteness. But the great pleasure is Kate McKinnon as the “heartless’ manager who is “all about the money”.
She gives a fantastic performance where the villain is full of humor and sarcasm and you just can’t stop hoping they would have given her more screen time.
To top it all you have beautiful new version of many of the classic songs of the Beatles, what else can one want when having to choose a movie.
I give it 5/5 stars.