- Actors: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Kate McKinnon
- Director: Danny Boyle
- Writer: Richard Curtis
- Producers: Danny Boyle, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Matthew James Wilkinson, Bernard Bellew
- Disc Format: 4K, NTSC, Subtitled
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
- Subtitles: French Canadian, Spanish, English
- Region: Region A/1
- Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rated: Parents Strongly CautionedPG-13
- Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
- Release Date: September 24, 2019
- Run Time: 117 minutes
Yesterday has a great premise, joining
the ranks of a special division of romantic comedies that are blended with a
sci-fi premise. South Koreans have perfected this delicate balance with films
like The Beauty Inside and How Long Will I Love You, but there are
plenty of American ones as well. There are those that deal with time travel (Hot Tub Time Machine) and time loops (Groundhog’s Day), ones that take place
in the future (Her), alternate worlds
unlike ours (The Lobster) and
alternate worlds similar to our own (The
Invention of Lying, Eternal Sunshine
of the Spotless Mind), but all of these films made full use of their
premise. Yesterday has a great
concept that it seems to abandon for the romantic elements, rather than having
them work in tandem. Even worse, the message of the movie becomes contradictory
in its need to provide a satisfying and moral resolution.
The basic
premise of the film is fairly simple, albeit a bit pandering in places. A
struggling singer/songwriter named Jack (Himesh Patel) is unable to get
audiences interested in his music, despite the encouragement from his friend
and manager, Ellie (Lily James). Having quit his job as a teacher to pursue
music, Jack is at rock bottom when he badly crashes his bike during a freak
worldwide blackout. When he comes to in the hospital, Jack discovers that the
rest of the world has forgotten the music of The Beatles.
Actually, it
isn’t as simple as everyone forgetting the music, because as the narrative
unfolds we discover that it is as if the past has been changed and we now live
in a world where John Lennon decided to have a simple life of happiness instead
of pursuing dreams. Not only does this complicate the premise of the film,
making the blackout result in an alternate reality altogether, but it also
complicates the message of the film. While we are repeatedly told that the
world is better off with Lennon’s music, the film also seems to encourage the
shrugging off of dreams for a simple life, confirmed by the resolution to the
premise as well. This feels somewhat contradictory, or at least a film better
watched without too much analysis.
Besides the
faulty logic of the film’s premise and themes, I found the film to be a bit
obnoxious at points. This was mostly due to contrived moments, both comedic and
emotional. Nearly every aspect of the film felt formulated by looking at past
successful films, cramming humor where it doesn’t belong and supporting
allowing actors to embellish their performances for laughs (Kate McKinnon is
the worst offender, tonally belonging in a completely different movie) while
the leads are forced into a bland romantic comedy predictable from the very
beginning. Yesterday feels like
several movies competing for the spotlight, with the hope that really good
music will distract from these flaws. The music is good, but not that good.
Speaking of the
music, this appears to be the only reason for an upgrade to 4K, as the visuals
in this film don’t offer anything that demands brighter and more lifelike
color. This has to be director Danny Boyle’s most visually unimpressive film,
with none of the typical stylistic embellishments he seems to typically
implement. This isn’t to say that the film demanded more style, but merely that
this is not a film I would expect many require on 4K Ultra HD.
Along with the
4K disc, there is also a Blu-ray copy of the film along with a digital code to
stream the film. Both the 4K and Blu-ray have the special features, with the 4K
providing them in 4K resolution. These include an alternate ending, along with
additional musical performances cut from the film. There are also featurettes
about two of the cast members; Ed Sheeran who plays himself and McKinnon who
practically eats the scenery in her inability to tone it down for a non-SNL
character. Oddly, there are no featurettes for the film’s two stars, but there
is another about the historic filming location of Abbey Road Studios. The highlight, however, is a director's commentary.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 6/10
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