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2019 Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday” Keeps The

3rd,
July Beatles Alive Even When They Don’t Exist

| — Or Do They?
EXAMINER By Brad Balfour idealism and disar-

ray. Because that
hrough an odd turn, sea-
soned director Danny Boyle
IRISH Ttakes an outlandish idea and notion is absent, a
world without The
tries to fashion a whole movie
would reveal the
around it. But isn’t everything Beatles possibly
Boyle does have an odd turn or two songs simply as a
to it? set of beautifully-
To a certain degree, the 62-year-old crafted pop tunes
pulls it off with “Yesterday” without without the coher-
doing all that he could do with the ence of the Beatles’
idea. The premise: what if there’s a and the era’s ideolo-
world without the Beatles through gy underlying
some cosmic fluke but one singer, them.
Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), imbued Having been a
with the memory of most of their music journalist
songs, recreates the songs as if they and heard every
were his own, thus channeling the possible versions of
power of their music through him. Beatles covers, I am not convinced travails of music business are too writer Richard Curtis (“Love,
The film “Yesterday” presents a that their songs would be as powerful much for them to establish a niche for Actually”) did a credible job in making
powerful conundrum — how can one as they are without their creators’ him. Just as he’s about to give up after the romance happen but I just don’t
create a world without the Beatles yet incredible rise and fall. So while a nearly empty gig, a bicycle accident buy it. I was more fascinated by the
embrace these songs as if they were actor/singer Patel does his best to during some weird global blackout, underlying sci-fi premise of a weird
the phenomenon they became with- empower these songs with a personal- lands Malik in the hospital and anoth- electrical phenomenon causing Jack
out them having been channeled ity, he’s just not enough of a charis- er dimension. to shift from his dimension to this uni-
though The Fab Four’s actual history. matic figure for me to believe that the As he rises in fame, enlisting the aid verse sans Beatles (and Coke and
While the songs all have a power, planet would fall sway to the songs on of real popstar Ed Sheeran and Harry Potter as well). Intrigued by the
would that have been so evident with- their own. Yes, we see that Jack has agent/manager Debra Hammer (Kate notion of someone caught up in an
out them existing within the context some okay talent — enough to attract McKinnon), Malik becomes a super- alternate universe like ours but not
of the ‘60s, where this quartet had a the beautiful Ellie Appleto (Lily star (recreating some incredible vari- quite, I was as much absorbed all its
huge role in the era’s advent, turmoil, James) to be his manager but that the ants of incidents in the Beatles’ actual possibilities not just those which
history) and face wold domination or impacted on Jack.
Sean Downes telling the truth while winning back nerd but I would have preferred more
Oh well, call me too much of a scifi
Ellie and exploring alternate world
version fot his Earth’s history (no this to be a fantastical dramedy than
Attorney at Law spoilers here). As a result of infusing this romantic fantasy. Not even
Sheeran’s surprisingly funny presence
the planet with the tunes’ power —
dovetailing into an archly romantic or McKinnon’s dead-on caricature of a
67 Wall Street, Suite 2401
New York, New York 10005-3101 conclusion — various romantic and wretched music business insider made
Telephone: (212) 248-3232 Fax (212) 248-2848 sociological events ensue. this one of Boyle better films. Still
Representing those injured in: This award-nominated, Oscar-win- worthy of viewing as easy-on-mind
SCAFFOLDING ACCIDENTS CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENTS ner (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “127 summer fare — it’s just one of
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE Hours”) tries his best to convince us it Danny’s best, but his run-of-the-mill is
AND ALL OTHER ACCIDENT CASES
all seem possible. And veteran screen- better than most. C

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