Yesterday, the British romcom inspired by the works of the Beatles, is due to leave BBC iPlayer in the next few days.
The 2019 film, written by Richard Curtis and directed by Danny Boyle, follows struggling musician Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) as he suddenly discovers he’s the only person on the planet to remember the legendary band
Jack uses the peculiar situation to his advantage as he performs the group’s songs and passes them off as his own, all while having a will-they-won’t-they relationship/friendship with Ellie (Lily James).
Noted for its bold set-up, Yesterday proved to be a box office hit after grossing $155 million against a budget of $26 million, but viewers will have to be fast if they want to watch the romcom as it’s due to leave BBC iPlayer on Wednesday 18 June at 12.36am.
Despite proving to be a hit with audiences, Yesterday wasn’t as glowingly received amongst critics, with the film currently possessing an approval rating of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes from 366 reviews.
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In their critical consensus, Rotten Tomatoes wrote: “Yesterday may fall short of fab, but the end result is still a sweetly charming fantasy with an intriguing – albeit somewhat under-explored – premise.”
“It’s a chocolate egg of a film: sweet and satisfying enough to distract you from the fact it’s completely hollow inside,” wrote The Independent, while The Irish Times dubbed it a “magical mystery tour worth boarding”.
“Fuelled by the engaging chemistry of its leads and the unflagging wonderment of the music, it zips along. But it can never quite reach escape velocity from the weight of its silliness,” wrote the London Evening Standard, while The Daily Telegraph described it as “genially infectious”.
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“Although this film can be a bit hokey and uncertain on narrative development, the puppyish zest and fun summoned up by Curtis and Boyle carry it along,” wrote The Guardian, while Empire Magazine praised it as a “glowing tribute to The Beatles and their music”.
While Yesterday is due to leave BBC iPlayer in the coming days, fans of the Beatles are due to get a major treat with Sam Mendes’s tetralogy of films focusing on each member of the band, who are set to be played by Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan.
Yesterday is due to leave BBC iPlayer on Wednesday 18 June.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
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