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Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

A blog by Leon Oudejans

Yesterday, a brilliant fairytale

31 October 2020

Music | TV

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Last Saturday, I received the weekly newsletter of Amazon Prime Video. While scrolling the available titles, I noticed a 2019 film called Yesterday (rated 6.8 in IMDb). After watching it, I gave this movie a 10. It’s a brilliant fairytale, featuring a “what-if” question: suppose that the Beatles had never existed, how would we feel about their music?

In order to make this story rationally consistent, the storyline uses a trick that also becomes a cliffhanger. During the entire movie, you expect that people will unmask the lead character as a fraud. The viewer’s feeling is boosted by the anxiety and the nightmares of the lead character. 

Part of the fairytale is an encounter between the lead character (Himesh Patel) and John Lennon, who lives on the coast of England. There is a suggestion of an encounter with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr but that scene appears to be part of the lead character’s nightmares. 

The struggling singer gets a career boost from Ed Sheeran (who plays himself), who happens to live in the neighbourhood and saw him singing on a local TV station. Ed Sheeran’s questions about the source of his inspiration are driving the lead character to high levels of anxiety. Each moment, he expects to be labelled as a fraud.

One of the beautiful moments is a song writing contest between Ed Sheeran and Himesh Patel. Ed Sheeran is convinced that he has won, until Himesh Patel starts singing The Long and Winding Road on a piano. Ed Sheeran is stunned and about to give up on his musical career.

Ed Sheeran’s manager, played by comedian Kate McKinnon, smells gold and swiftly replaces the lead character’s childhood friend and manager, played by Lily James. Kate McKinnon’s shark-like behaviour is both hilarious and off-putting. Lily James is busy escaping the notorious friend zone.

This film is directed by Danny Boyle who did an excellent job apart from a rather abundant flash-back scene at the end of the movie. Writing credits are for Jack Barth and director, producer and screenwriter Richard Curtis, who is famous for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999), Love Actually (2003) and About a Boy (2013).

Last but certainly not least, the sheer genius of the Beatles’ songs is accountable and responsible for the brilliance of this fairytale. A personal favourite of mine is stated below.

The Long and Winding Road (1970) by The Beatles

artists, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2

Note: all markings (bolditalicunderlining) by LO unless stated otherwise.

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