Yesterday (2019 film)

Yesterday is an upcoming British comedy film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Richard Curtis, from a story by Jack Barth and Curtis. The film stars Himesh Patel as a musician who, after an accident, finds himself in another world where he is the only person who remembers The Beatles, and becomes famous taking credit for writing and performing their songs. Lily James, Kate McKinnon, and Ed Sheeran also star.

The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on May 4, 2019, and will be released in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2019, by Universal Pictures.

Synopsis
Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a struggling singer-songwriter in a tiny English seaside town whose dreams of fame are rapidly fading, despite the fierce devotion and support of his childhood best friend, Ellie (Lily James). Then, after a freak bus accident during a mysterious global blackout, Jack wakes up in another world, where The Beatles do not exist.

He performs songs by a band to a world that has never heard them, and his steel-hearted American agent, Debra (Kate McKinnon), helps to propel him to stardom. However, as his star rises, he risks losing Ellie — the one person who always believed in him.

Production
In March 2018, director Danny Boyle and writer Richard Curtis were announced to be teaming on a musical comedy that will be set in the 1960s or 1970s and centre on "a struggling musician who thinks he's the only person who can remember The Beatles" with Himesh Patel cast in the lead role. Later that month, Lily James and Kate McKinnon joined the cast. Boyle informed the surviving members and widows of the band about the film and received a reply he described as "lovely" from Ringo Starr.

In April 2018, Ed Sheeran joined the cast and would potentially also write new music for the film, which would also include Beatles songs. Sheeran was confirmed to star later that month, with Ana de Armas and Lamorne Morris joining the cast. In May 2018, Sophia Di Martino, Joel Fry and Harry Michell joined the cast.

Filming began on April 21, 2018, with production in the United Kingdom starting on April 26, 2018, with scenes filmed all around Suffolk in Halesworth, Dunwich, Shingle street, Latitude Festival and Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. A casting call was issued for extras in overnight scenes shot immediately after Sheeran's four consecutive concerts at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales in May 2018. A further 5,000 extras were also recruited to appear in scenes shot on Gorleston Beach in Norfolk in June 2018. Wembley Stadium was also used to film a concert scene.

In February 2019, it was announced the title of the film was Yesterday.

Release
The film was initially set to be released on September 13, 2019 but was rescheduled to June 28 that year. It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on May 4, 2019.

Marketing
The first official trailer of the film was released on February 12, 2019.

Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 64% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 6.31/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars, writing "although this film can be a bit hokey and uncertain on narrative development, the puppyish zest and fun summoned up by Curtis and Boyle carry it along." Robbie Collin also responded positively in his review for The Daily Telegraph, saying the film "rallies in style for a beautifully judged and surprisingly moving finale, which owes a lot to Patel and James's chemistry." Owen Gleiberman of Variety, meanwhile, was less enthusiastic, claiming the film had little soul and calling it a "rom-com wallpapered with the Beatles' greatness."