Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) Is an aspiring singer/songwriter, but despite the overwhelming support and enthusiasm of his friends, his career has never really taken off. Jack’s manager is schoolteacher Ellie (Lily James), who has been his best friend since they were young, but nothing romantic has ever happened between them. While Ellie has always had feelings for Jack, she has been relegated to his friend column. For the past 15 years—ever since a successful talent show performance of “Wonderwall” at age 14—Jack has been trying to recapture his musical success, but now he’s ready to call it quits, saying “If it hasn’t happened by now, it’s not going to. It’ll take a miracle.” He’s ready to accept an offer of a full-time job at the local warehouse store and hang up his guitar. However, he may just get that miracle he needs!
As Jack is heading home from his final gig, the power goes out across the the world, and his bicycle is hit by a bus. When the power comes back on, Jack finds himself in the hospital, missing two front teeth. While everything seems to be normal, he soon discovers that no one else appears to remember The Beatles. At first, Jack thinks his friends are playing a prank on him, but even a Google search for the iconic band and its music turns up nothing. So Jack makes it his top priority to write down the lyrics to as many of The Beatles’ songs as he can remember. And each interaction he has with someone seems to spark a memory of another song he’s missed.
Jack then starts to play these songs for his friends and family, but his loved ones aren’t immediately impressed by or interested in his new songs…his parents don’t have the expected enthusiastic response to the fact that they first people in the world to hear “Leave it Be”. However, recording studio owner Gavin (Alexander Arnold) hears Jack playing in a club and offers to record a demo record. It isn’t long before word starts to spread and Jack’s career takes off. Since Ellie isn’t ready to quit her day job as a math teacher, Jack reluctantly asks friend Rocky (Joel Fry) to be his roadie. He soon partners up with Ed Sheeran’s wild and ruthless American manager Debra Hammer (Kate McKinnon), who wants to change his image and turn him into a superstar. But as Jack’s fame grows, so does his guilt over the situation—that he’s living a lie and taking credit for writing all of these musical masterpieces. His relationship with best friend Ellie also begins to suffer, and it seems like these two soulmates will never find one another.
Yesterday is both a wonderful love letter to the music of The Beatles, as well as heartwarming romantic comedy. There are also elements of a mystery strewn throughout, as we get glimpses of some individuals who appear to maybe know that something isn’t quite right, and may be onto Jack’s secret. Lead Himesh Patel is charming, and proves to be quite successful at the challenging task of re-creating and performing these classic songs live for the cameras. He does so in a way that feels natural for the character as Jack struggles to remember the lyrics and recreate the iconic music in hopes of putting it back out into the world (and also get a little bit of overdue musical praise in the process). There’s also a lot of humor in the film as Jack tries to remember the lyrics to the songs, particularly “Eleanor Rigby”—we see his thought process and the incorrect lyrics in his mind come to life. There are also fun homages to iconic Beatles moments like Jack being chased by screaming fans as he arrives at the airport back in England.
Patel has wonderful chemistry with the delightful Lily James, who had me smiling whenever she appeared on screen. Throughout the film, I found myself really rooting for Jack to finally wake up and profess his love for Ellie, which had been unrequited for far too long. It’s obvious these two love each other, even if neither has ever officially professed it to the other. The film includes a lot of the usual tropes that you typically see in a romantic comedy, but not in a bad way. These add a bit of familiarity to this otherwise extremely unique and creative story, taking the viewer on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The film was written by the masterful Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral), who proves that he can still melt the hearts of audiences. And director Danny Boyle gives viewers another visual treat.
The film also has an excellent supporting cast. Ed Sheeran is hilarious playing a heightened version of himself (and he also has a couple wonderful musical performances), Kate McKinnon is a comic improv genius as the dastardly, greedy manager, and Joel Fry is a lot of fun as Rocky. Real-life couple Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal are also a delight as Jack’s clueless but loving parents—I was a huge fan of their work way back on The Kumars, and they are just as fun and wacky here.
Universal’s 4K release looks and sounds great. The disc includes HDR10+ formatting instead of Dolby Vision. While my older 4K TV doesn’t support this format, the disc falls back to standard HDR10. The picture quality was still quite impressive and incredibly detailed. Outdoor scenes look bright and immaculate, while indoor scenes take more advantage of the enhanced color palette. One example of this is when Jack is recording his album and the studio is filled with brilliant red, green and purple lights. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack does a nice job of capturing the musical performances, transporting the viewer to the various venues Jack where Jack performs, from a Moscow club, to an intimate pub performance, to a raucous outdoor rooftop concert, and finally the massive, booming Wembley Stadium.
The 4K Ultra HD release includes both a 4K disc and a Blu-ray disc packed in standard UHD keepcase with a slipcover, and contains an insert with a code to redeem for a 4K Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film. The Blu-ray and 4K discs both include the same assortment of bonus material—30 minutes of deleted scenes (including an alternate opening and ending), live musical performances, 24 minutes of cast and filmmaker behind-the-scenes featurettes, and an audio commentary with the writer and director. There is a convenient Play All option that makes it really simple to make your way through all the bonus content.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:56:14)
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4K Ultra HD:
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- HDR10+
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Video Service, Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- 4K digital copy redeemable via Movies Anywhere
Blu-ray:
Digital (for redemption deadline, see NBCUcodes.com):
Extras:
All of the bonus material can be found on both the 4K Ultra HD and the Blu-ray discs. There is a convenient Play All option to watch all of the bonus material back-to-back.
- Alternate Ending (3:10)
Jack sings a new song he wrote for Ellie as they drive back from his big reveal, and the couple finally gets together. - Deleted Scenes (23:29)
Collection of 12 deleted scenes. Play All, or select from:- “Late For School” (:48)
Ellie arrives late for school and enters her loud classroom. - “Nutters Italian Ice Cream” (2:22)
Jack refuses to record “She Loves You” as a commercial jingle. - “Sortisimus” (:28)
Jack and Rocky talk on the plane. - “Moscow Audience” (4:37)
A Moscow audience isn’t very enthused by Jack’s performance, until he sings “Back in the U.S.S.R.” - “Alexa” (2:09)
Jack spends the night with a Russian woman. - “A Gonk” (1:09)
Jack leave his job at Price Star. - “W Hotel” (1:33)
Jack has issues checking into his room at the W Hotel. - “Jack Calls Ellie” (3:01)
Jack calls Ellie from his hotel room, and finds out she has a boyfriend. - “Corden & Roxanne” (4:49)
Jack appears on the James Corden show with Roxanne, and sings “Something”. - “Hilary in the Mirror” (:27)
Hilary looks at Jack in his suit in the mirror. - “Nick and Carol” (1:16)
Nick and Carol, and agent Debra come to see Jack before his rooftop performance. - “Hazel’s Selfie” (1:10)
Hazel visits Jack backstage before his rooftop performance and asks him for a selfie.
- “Late For School” (:48)
- Live at Abbey Road Studios (9:50)
Himesh Patel and the band record some of The Beatles’ songs live at Abbey Road Studios. Play All, or select from:- “Yesterday” (2:47)
- “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (2:46)
- “Let It Be” (4:18)
- Alternate Opening (4:47)
Jack and Ellie are driving in the car planning his set list, only to discover that the venue has been closed for three weeks. Pieces of this appear in the film as a flashback as Jack prepares for his rooftop concert. - Gag Reel (2:04)
Brief blooper reel with a flying umbrella, a falling plant, flubbed lines, and broken takes. - A Talented Duo (3:25)
The cast and filmmakers talk about the film’s premise and the unique collaboration between the renowned writer and director. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/producer Danny Boyle, writer/producer Richard Curtis, producer Matthew James Wilkinson, and stars Himesh Patel (“Jack Malik”), Kate McKinnon (“Debra Hammer”), Ed Sheeran, & Lily James (“Ellie Appleton”). - Playing for Real (5:35)
The cast and filmmakers talk about casting the film, learning the songs, and the decision to play the songs live. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writer/producer Richard Curtis, director/producer Danny Boyle, music producer Adem Ilhan, producer Tim Bevan, composer Daniel Pemberton, and star Himesh Patel, Ed Sheeran & Kate McKinnon. - Soul Mates (4:47)
The cast and filmmakers talk about the relationship between Ellie and Jack, and the actors who portray them. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/producer Danny Boyle, writer/producer Richard Curtis, and stars Lily James, Himesh Patel & Kate McKinnon. - Ed Sheeran: From Stadium to Screen (3:09)
The cast and filmmakers talk about working with Ed Sheeran. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writer/producer Richard Curtis, director/producer Danny Boyle, and stars Ed Sheeran & Himesh Patel. - Agent of Comedy: Kate McKinnon (3:17)
The cast and filmmakers talk about working with the hilarious Kate McKinnon, and her villainous role. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writer/producer Richard Curtis, director/producer Danny Boyle, and stars Kate McKinnon, Himesh Patel & Ed Sheeran. - A Conversation with Richard & Ed (3:22)
Writer/producer Richard Curtis and star Ed Sheeran talk about the small town they filmed in, casting Ed, and how Jack’s story parallel’s Ed’s own life. - Feature Commentary with Director Danny Boyle and Writer/Producer Richard Curtis (1:56:14)
The two filmmaking legends provide an entertaining and informative commentary throughout the film. They share lots of fun and interesting behind-the-scenes stories, talk about the production process, point out some Easter eggs, and more. You can really sense their love for the film as they discuss the experience, and this joy is quite infectious.
Final Thoughts:
Yesterday is a wonderfully creative film that works both as a love letter to the music of The Beatles as well as a soon-to-be-classic romantic comedy tale. The film also features an amazing, talented cast, and excellent musical performances. The leads are charming and have so much chemistry—I could easily watch this film over and over again. Universal’s 4K release provides excellent picture and sound, and the discs contains an excellent assortment of bonus material. This release comes highly recommended for anyone looking for a creative, totally original romantic comedy—something that is a bit rare in these days of constant reboots and sequels.
