I've read the reviews, this film is getting a love-it or hate-it reaction. First, I think a lot of the bad press comes from people judging it out of its genre. It is a romantic comedy, so those who gave it 1s and 2s (out of 10) because it was "just a love story with music", need to adjust their expectations, appropriately. Secondly, this is under-spoken, self-deprecating British humour (that I adore) but this is often baffling to American audiences (who are use to being fed broad comedy, caricatures of life - see note on Kate McKinnon, below) and this fuelled another flurry of low ratings. So, you can see where my review is going. I loved this movie. The love story was inevitable (it WAS the point of the movie). The premise was unique (and it provided a great reoccurring joke). The theme of Friendship Zone vs Romantic Interest was executed perfectly by the deep, emotional vocabulary of the performers (although, the 14-seconds-that-changed-the- world is as much of a leap as Lily James, made average with fuzzy hair, being left in the friendship zone, in any time line). Himesh Patel made a smooth transition from the Soaps to the Big Screen and his musical skills were perfect for this. Lily James brought such vulnerability, energy and strength [spoiler] dealing with unrequited love [/spoiler]. As much as I appreciate the comedic talents of Kate McKinnon, I wish she would find the real people behind her caricatures. She needs to find her dramatic chops which, I believe, are there to be discovered. But the glue for this film was the music. As with BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, I was transported to my youth when so much of this music was imbedded, word for word, note for note. [spoiler] I fully expected the ending to flip back to Jack waking in his hospital bed, having lived a dream, and now seeing Ellie with different eyes and not missing his moments, cue same ending from there on. [/spoiler] I give this film an 8 (great) out of 10. My friend gives it a 9 (just short of perfect). [RomCom around Music]

It's weird to think that there was a time when a film was released in cinemas, packed with strangers, call coughing and throwing their popcorn around. But what's even weirder is the thought that a film exists which combines the biggest British film director right now with the biggest British film writer. I'm talking of Yesterday, which was directed by Danny Boyle and written by Richard Curtis.

Yesterday is a film that seems to have slipped under the radar somewhat; it opened to relatively lukewarm reviews, with critics seeming somewhat indifferent. And honestly, I can kind of see why. It's not a bad film, but it's not the best work of either Danny Boyle or Richard Curtis either.

Yesterday sees warehouse worker by day/musician by night Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) wake up in a world where the Beatles don't exist, after his road accident with a bus happens to coincide with a global blackout. The establishing of this strange new world is a lot of fun too, as we learn over the course of the film that not only did The Beatles never form, but there was also no Oasis, Coca-Cola or Harry Potter either. It makes you wonder what a world without these major cultural landmarks looks like. Without Harry Potter, did the Young Adult film adaptation craze of the 2000s never take off? Without Coca-Cola, does Santa still wear green?

It also forms somewhat of a plot hole, as you would assume that if the entire world blacked out, even for a few seconds, that it would cause major ramifications. What happens if people are thrown off life support in the hospitals? Do they all die?

And speaking of plot holes, what about the pair from Liverpool (one who is played by Sarah Lancashire), who remembers The Beatles? How does she remember? Surely that means there could be potentially more people who do, and would take a more antagonistic approach to Jack using The Beatles' songs?

Despite all that, however, there are some great pieces of humour dotted throughout (no surprise given that it's written by Richard Curtis). I laughed at Jack's constant attempts to sing Let It Be being interrupted by door bells and ringing phones, for example. And Ed Sheeran's suggestion that 'Hey Jude' should instead of 'Hey Dude' for added relevance was very funny too.

Ed Sheeran is certainly no actor though, to say the least. He forms somewhat of an extended cameo here, dropping in and out of the film, and his acting is a little on the wooden side. He delivers his lines in a somewhat monotone intonation, and you kind of wonder why they didn't just draft someone in to play a fictional celebrity musician.

Himash Patel and Kate McKinnon (who plays Jack's L.A. manager Debra Hammer), on the other hand, are brilliant. Both add some real depth and character with their portrayals, and are consistently engaging throughout the movie. They feel perfectly cast for their roles, and really help to bring the film to life.

Something which I found interesting was how this film never fully resolved the overall plot. Jack may have openly confessed to the songs not being his own, but by the end of the film he's still stuck in a world where the Beatles never actually formed - and you've go to wonder, how do Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon (the latter who is in the film, played by Robert Carlyle) feel about being named as the real people behind the songs? In a world where they never wrote or sung them? The cynic in me wonders if they're leaving these unanswered questions open for a future sequel, which I would watch, but if no sequel is planned then it does make the screenplay feel a little unfinished.

Overall, Yesterday is a solid film. It's far from either Danny Boyle or Richard Curtis's finest efforts, but it provides a fun piece of entertainment, with some good humour and obviously great music. The script does contain some plot holes, however, which are never explained in the finished film, and Ed Sheeran's acting is questionable at best. It's a film that could use a follow-up entry, and I for one would be interested to see where the story could go next.

‘Yesterday’ takes its genius idea and unfortunately turns it into a generic film. Both director Danny Boyle and writer Richard Curtis have proven their creativity before, but here it's just wasted along with everything else.
- Chris dos Santos

Read Chris' full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-yesterday-great-concept-disappointing-execution

Head to https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/sff for more Sydney Film Festival reviews.

I really enjoyed this movie. Right out of the gate, you must accept that it is a fantasy rather than science-fiction, because the latter genre usually tries to give some sort of explanation for why something happens, but here we just take it as it is.

The dialogue is mostly witty and fun, and the characters got my sympathy. I had a slight problem with the two lead characters having always been platonic, as it was never fully explained why that was. But I was able to put that aside. Plus I really liked seeing the third lead character, the Mini Cooper (okay, yes, I have owned one for nearly twenty years).

Part of the ending could be considered predictable, and part of it was, but another piece of the conclusion astonished me in its originality, so it worked for me. One interesting subplot revolved around a couple of people who shared the knowledge about the Beatles that drives the story, and I was surprised and pleased at how they resolved that subplot.

And yes, to deal with the elephant in the room, most of the songs presented in the movie were better when the Beatles performed them, but isn't that the point? I had no problem setting that fact aside and enjoying this harmless and entertaining film. Oh, and I appreciate what a good sport Ed Sheeran is in this movie, allowing the lead character to more or less beat him in a songwriting contest (though of course Ed really won). In this movie, everybody wins (Well, except of course for the fictional Beatles, unless you can imagine they would prefer where the fantay lands them.)