Being a huge fan of The Beatles, I decided to go and see the new British romantic comedy 'Yesterday'. The film tells the story of Jack Malik, a struggling musician who after being hit by a bus during a mysterious blackout, wakes up in a world where The Beatles never existed. Wanting to share their music to a world that has never heard them, Jack begins to perform each and every single one of their songs, quickly becoming an overnight sensation.
'Yesterday' is a perfect film for passive viewers who are simply there to sit back and enjoy the film. However, as an active viewer, I picked out a couple of controversies and plot holes that I would like to discuss.
The main and most obvious plot hole in this film is the two other people who appear to know who The Beatles are. Whilst sat in the cinema, I was hoping for an explanation as to why these two know of The Beatles' existence. When watching them confront Jack, I was so desperately hoping for an answer as to why they knew whom The Beatles were - after all, they had built this up so much. Instead, all I got was a comic scene where they leaped around with glee, whilst chanting the lyrics to ‘Yellow Submarine’, without any real explanation. What happened to them to allow them to know of The Beatles' existence? Were they hit by a bus in the middle of the night during an international blackout too? As an active viewer, this huge plot hole will always irritate me, and I will always be aching for an answer.
Despite my general enjoyment of the film and the laughs it produced, I found that at the times the story seemed messy and difficult to comprehend. One minute Jack was performing in a pub in England, and the next he was at the doorstep of John Lennon's secluded house.
This brings me to my third and final point: the John Lennon scene. Throughout this film, I was lead to believe that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were going to make an appearance towards the end of the film. However, myself and many others were left disappointed to see someone portraying John Lennon. Instead of enjoying this scene, I was sat there trying to figure out why they decided that Jack would meet John, as he was unfortunately assassinated in 1980. This lead me to asking more questions once again. Was John Lennon never assassinated in this alternate universe? Why couldn't they have had an actor playing Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr?
These points aside, overall, I enjoyed the film and thought it was a shining tribute to The Beatles and their music. I recommend it to any Beatles fans and anyone who is looking for a relaxing, passive viewing.