Yesterday

Seen at the Theatre Royal, Castlemaine

Cecil says: If you want a feel-good movie with lots of music you know and love, then Yesterday might just be the film for you. We saw it on a dreary winter’s afternoon in our local cinema, the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine.

The film is about a rather average singer in suburban England, who happens to be one of only three people on the planet who know all the Beatles songs after a worldwide power cut deletes any history of a range of things from cigarettes to Coca-Cola and from The Beatles to Oasis.

He puts together a couple of collections of ‘Beatles’ songs and gradually rises from unsuccessful pub singer to sharing a stage with Ed Sheeran (who plays himself in the film) at major gigs around the world.

The funniest scenes for me are of his first efforts to make a recording, when a local lad gets him into his makeshift ‘studio’ in his living room. This reminded me of my own early efforts to create a podcast a few years ago. We used my friend Dylan’s lounge room to make the recordings, but were constantly interrupted by barking dogs, ice cream vans, kids next door coming home from school and Dylan’s Mum arriving back with the shopping in crinkly crunchy plastic bags.

There’s also the very true-to-life saga of putting together the words of ‘Penny Lane’ (there was no song sheet of course since The Beatles hadn’t existed): who did pick up the rice and what was Father McKenzie upto? How did that second verse end?

That’s the beauty of the film, though. This is a very ordinary bloke doing what all of us would do ourselves, but trying to work with absolute masterpieces of music and poetic insights.

Somehow or other our hero gets to meet the real John Lennon, still alive on the South Coast somewhere in 2019. I forget how that story-line connects up, but it is a very poignant meeting, with Lennon philosophical about life and happiness – and no sign of McCartney anywhere.

The music of course is great, though I had expected we’d hear more of Yesterday, given the film’s title, and brings home yet again just how wonderful the Fab Four were, with lyrics and tunes that can make even an average singer sound great.

Hey Jude is the only hit I actually remember singing along to on Top of the Pops so that was poignant for me, even with Ed Sheeran’s twist to the title (no spoiler from us here…).

And we walked away from the cinema with a smile on our faces, arm around each other, though a wistful sense of nostalgia also in the air around us as we headed home.

A lovely afternoon

***.5

Bea says: This film had received mixed reviews and I was somewhat hesitant about seeing it, but as it was on at our (lovely) local, and we had some weekend time, and I was in need of a pick-me-up, I thought there was really nothing to lose.  And there certainly wasn't - I loved this film. 

I should have known, as Richard Curtis (screenwriter for this one) is always good, even when he isn't.  The premise is clever, it is well handled and at times very funny (particularly Ed Sheeran), but with a twist of poignancy and nostalgia, just the right ingredients for a feel-good film which stays the right side of being soppy or overly sentimental.  

For me, the best part of the film is the gradual revealing of the meaning of the yellow submarine, and the overall message that things sometimes do work out, and that music brings joy into the world regardless.

I would highly recommend this to anyone, but perhaps particularly if you are in need of a tonic generally.

****.5