maxwellperfect
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@maxwellperfect
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Post by maxwellperfect on Aug 23, 2019 15:41:15 GMT
A struggling young singer finds himself the only person in the world (well, except for two others who later emerge) who remembers the music of The Beatles. I'm sure a good movie could have been made with this premise, but 'Yesterday' is not it. First, you never get the sense that the protagonist is anything other than a halfway-realized character in a wacky movie, with his funny parents and obligatory kooky sidekick. Movies such as 'Life of Pi' and Boyle's own 'Slumdog Millionaire' proved that fairy tales could still be set in the real world and be thought provoking. The romantic subplot is tedious. The two characters are clearly perfect for each other and we KNOW they'll be together by the end of the movie, but they endlessly dither on about whether they should kiss, take the next step in their relationship beyond friendship, etc. It got to the point where I cringed every time the two characters were together alone on screen.
My main complaint is how the movie suffers from that peculiar failing of Beatles fans (speaking as one myself) to insist that the Fab Four were the greatest thing ever. When a Beatles song is played, the characters reverently say things like "the song was the greatest work of art since Michelango painted the Sistine Chapel," or something along those lines. Forgotten is the pure joy that the music of the Beatles gave to us fans. Few scenes adequately portray that. There could have been a strong dramatic moment when the other two folks who recall the Beatles tell the protagonist how good is is to hear their music again, but it's just a throwaway moment in the movie. There is one particular scene which I won't spoil that I've heard people denounce in strenuous terms, but I personally enjoyed that part, corny dialogue and all.
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Post by ellynmacg on Aug 23, 2019 18:39:27 GMT
Sorry, I don't agree at all that the movie was a waste, as I loved it. The only part I found frustrating was that the phenomenon that caused this "loss of memory" was never explained. Okay, electricity went out all over the world (shades of The Day the Earth Stood Still!), and Jack got hit by a bus. But how, exactly, did that wipe out the memory of The Beatles, along with every bit of evidence of their very existence, for everyone except Jack and two other people. (Of course, there could have been others who, for one reason or another, could not surface and tell Jack, "Me too!") My theory is that when the bus hit Jack, it threw him into an alternative universe that included no band known as The Beatles (along with no Coca-Cola and no cigarettes ).This theory would also help explain why two other people knew about the Fab Four--they had apparently undergone some similar accident--not necessarily a bus, of course, but something equally traumatic. About the romance...okay, I admit I got a little impatient with the two-friends-who-ought-to-be-lovers-and-everybody-knows-it-but-them bit...but it didn't make me cringe. Maybe our different responses has something to do with the difference in our genders...but maybe it's just a difference in taste. I am curious as to why, when so many, many movies deal with "fairy tales... in the real world", you choose Life of Pi and Slumdog Millionaire. Okay, the latter was directed by Danny Boyle, the director of Yesterday...but why Pi? I hope it didn't have had anything to do with the fact that all three movies' protagonists were of a similar ethnic background. On the scene "when the other two folks who recall the Beatles tell the protagonist how good is is to hear their music again"--maybe it wasn't a "strong dramatic moment", but I did not regard it as a throwaway moment...I found it sweetly poignant and moving. Oh well--again, it's probably just differing tastes. After all, given that you regard the movie as "a waste", while I find it charming and engaging, it follows we'd have diverging opinions on quite a few things...right?  I'm very curious about the scene you "personally enjoyed". Is there some reason you didn't include it in your post and just conceal it with spoiler tags? It's too bad that two fans of The Beatles (by the way, I noticed and appreciated that you also capitalized the article as well as the proper noun in their name) have to disagree on a movie that so celebrated their music. But that, as they say, is what makes horse races (and movie ratings). |
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maxwellperfect
Junior Member
@maxwellperfect
Posts: 3,966
Likes: 1,683
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Post by maxwellperfect on Aug 23, 2019 21:51:35 GMT
Sorry, I don't agree at all that the movie was a waste, as I loved it. The only part I found frustrating was that the phenomenon that caused this "loss of memory" was never explained. Okay, electricity went out all over the world (shades of The Day the Earth Stood Still!), and Jack got hit by a bus. But how, exactly, did that wipe out the memory of The Beatles, along with every bit of evidence of their very existence, for everyone except Jack and two other people. (Of course, there could have been others who, for one reason or another, could not surface and tell Jack, "Me too!") My theory is that when the bus hit Jack, it threw him into an alternative universe that included no band known as The Beatles (along with no Coca-Cola and no cigarettes ).This theory would also help explain why two other people knew about the Fab Four--they had apparently undergone some similar accident--not necessarily a bus, of course, but something equally traumatic. About the romance...okay, I admit I got a little impatient with the two-friends-who-ought-to-be-lovers-and-everybody-knows-it-but-them bit...but it didn't make me cringe. Maybe our different responses has something to do with the difference in our genders...but maybe it's just a difference in taste. I am curious as to why, when so many, many movies deal with "fairy tales... in the real world", you choose Life of Pi and Slumdog Millionaire. Okay, the latter was directed by Danny Boyle, the director of Yesterday...but why Pi? I hope it didn't have had anything to do with the fact that all three movies' protagonists were of a similar ethnic background. On the scene "when the other two folks who recall the Beatles tell the protagonist how good is is to hear their music again"--maybe it wasn't a "strong dramatic moment", but I did not regard it as a throwaway moment...I found it sweetly poignant and moving. Oh well--again, it's probably just differing tastes. After all, given that you regard the movie as "a waste", while I find it charming and engaging, it follows we'd have diverging opinions on quite a few things...right? I'm very curious about the scene you "personally enjoyed". Is there some reason you didn't include it in your post and just conceal it with spoiler tags? It's too bad that two fans of The Beatles (by the way, I noticed and appreciated that you also capitalized the article as well as the proper noun in their name) have to disagree on a movie that so celebrated their music. But that, as they say, is what makes horse races (and movie ratings). I chose 'Life of Pi' and 'Slumdog' for the reasons stated; they are both exemplary specimens of fairytale-like stories set in a real world with real human problems and suffering, not to mention real human triumphs -- and no other reason. I felt that 'Yesterday' could have benefited from something that evoked more than the occasional sense of mild amusement that I experienced. Yes, I agree the explanation is that the protagonist crossed over into an alternate world, which explains the odd differences in that world that have nothing to do with The Beatles. I enjoyed that running gag, although on some level I almost wished that there had been an "It's a Wonderful Life" kind of cause and effect thing that had happened because of no Beatles. The Oasis gag was funny though. The scene I referred to cryptically was the one set in a remote hovel that the protagonist drives to late in the movie to meet a certain person. Thank you for sharing your opinion. Cordial disagreement is always welcome.
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Aug 24, 2019 8:11:27 GMT
Sorry, I don't agree at all that the movie was a waste, as I loved it. The only part I found frustrating was that the phenomenon that caused this "loss of memory" was never explained. Okay, electricity went out all over the world (shades of The Day the Earth Stood Still!), and Jack got hit by a bus. But how, exactly, did that wipe out the memory of The Beatles, along with every bit of evidence of their very existence, for everyone except Jack and two other people. (Of course, there could have been others who, for one reason or another, could not surface and tell Jack, "Me too!") My theory is that when the bus hit Jack, it threw him into an alternative universe that included no band known as The Beatles (along with no Coca-Cola and no cigarettes ).This theory would also help explain why two other people knew about the Fab Four--they had apparently undergone some similar accident--not necessarily a bus, of course, but something equally traumatic.
About the romance...okay, I admit I got a little impatient with the two-friends-who-ought-to-be-lovers-and-everybody-knows-it-but-them bit...but it didn't make me cringe. Maybe our different responses has something to do with the difference in our genders...but maybe it's just a difference in taste. I am curious as to why, when so many, many movies deal with "fairy tales... in the real world", you choose Life of Pi and Slumdog Millionaire. Okay, the latter was directed by Danny Boyle, the director of Yesterday...but why Pi? I hope it didn't have had anything to do with the fact that all three movies' protagonists were of a similar ethnic background. On the scene "when the other two folks who recall the Beatles tell the protagonist how good is is to hear their music again"--maybe it wasn't a "strong dramatic moment", but I did not regard it as a throwaway moment...I found it sweetly poignant and moving. Oh well--again, it's probably just differing tastes. After all, given that you regard the movie as "a waste", while I find it charming and engaging, it follows we'd have diverging opinions on quite a few things...right? I'm very curious about the scene you "personally enjoyed". Is there some reason you didn't include it in your post and just conceal it with spoiler tags? It's too bad that two fans of The Beatles (by the way, I noticed and appreciated that you also capitalized the article as well as the proper noun in their name) have to disagree on a movie that so celebrated their music. But that, as they say, is what makes horse races (and movie ratings). I see the plot catalyst as an opportunity for allegory. It does not necessarily make sense logistically, but it serves to make the point that for all The Beatles' creativity and lyrical spark, they easily—perhaps had they come along at a different time and in a different place—could have fallen into the ether and hardly anyone would have ever known about them. I feel that the filmmakers are offering a thematic point about the fickleness of pop stardom and musical success, a notion reinforced later when Jack meets John Lennon. In other words, fame in the popular arts is often a product of luck and randomness as much as talent and determination, and thus to revel too heavily in that glory and mistake it for great meaning and purpose would be fallacious. Potentially, there were bands just as inspired and inventive as The Beatles—who, for all their virtues, were not exceptional instrumentalists—that never met the right agent, booked the right show, dovetailed with the emerging popular tastes and mood of their day, or whatever. And thus they might never show up in a Google search. So I believe that the plot device is quite effective thematically. I never bothered to try and scrutinize the accident and its aftereffects in a practical sense because, first, I knew that it would not make sense and, second, the point was allegorical. And, in that sense, it works.
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Aug 24, 2019 8:33:36 GMT
A struggling young singer finds himself the only person in the world (well, except for two others who later emerge) who remembers the music of The Beatles. I'm sure a good movie could have been made with this premise, but 'Yesterday' is not it. First, you never get the sense that the protagonist is anything other than a halfway-realized character in a wacky movie, with his funny parents and obligatory kooky sidekick. Movies such as 'Life of Pi' and Boyle's own 'Slumdog Millionaire' proved that fairy tales could still be set in the real world and be thought provoking. The romantic subplot is tedious. The two characters are clearly perfect for each other and we KNOW they'll be together by the end of the movie, but they endlessly dither on about whether they should kiss, take the next step in their relationship beyond friendship, etc. It got to the point where I cringed every time the two characters were together alone on screen. My main complaint is how the movie suffers from that peculiar failing of Beatles fans (speaking as one myself) to insist that the Fab Four were the greatest thing ever. When a Beatles song is played, the characters reverently say things like "the song was the greatest work of art since Michelango painted the Sistine Chapel," or something along those lines. Forgotten is the pure joy that the music of the Beatles gave to us fans. Few scenes adequately portray that. There could have been a strong dramatic moment when the other two folks who recall the Beatles tell the protagonist how good is is to hear their music again, but it's just a throwaway moment in the movie. There is one particular scene which I won't spoil that I've heard people denounce in strenuous terms, but I personally enjoyed that part, corny dialogue and all. This point is intriguing. Regarding your assessment of the overall film, your expectations perhaps proved a bit too high. In other words, as you basically note (with great disappointment), Yesterday is essentially a romantic comedy (as well as a morality play), and it brings along the conventions and clichés of that genre(s). Along the way, it offers a few compelling themes and ideas, one of which I mentioned in my previous post. The ethical dilemma about appropriating The Beatles' songs is also worthwhile, even if it ends predictably and conveniently. Making more of that dilemma in the first place, though, before Jack achieves fame, might have strengthened the film, creating greater tension and reflection. I found Yesterday to be "pretty good," meaning above average, albeit less than a full-fledged "good" film. I saw it on July 8, and I find that it resonates a bit more than one might expect for a movie that ultimately fulfills the mere stock functions of a romantic comedy/morality play. Himesh Patel is effectively earnest and endearing in the leading role (although as you indicate, his part may be "halfway realized" in the writing), Lily James provides a similarly earnest and endearing counterpoint, and the movie is technically competent. The film's basic goals are perhaps too limited, sentimental, and conventional, but as I indicated, it does offer some thought-provoking ideas along the way. I might see Yesterday one more time this week, after I first view Blinded by the Light.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Aug 24, 2019 8:59:28 GMT
I felt almost exactly the same as you, right down to the two parts I did like, the Oasis reference and the meeting with JL and wanting more from the meeting with the two other fans. A wasted opportunity. A intriguing high concept that was thrown away on a fickle rom-com plot where the main character just happens to be a musician who finds overnight success due to something that is never explained. I liked the ongoing gag about the other no longer existent things but it just made the lack of any explanation even more frustrating. Unfortunatley I think films like this paint themselves into a corner a bit though because no explanation is ever going to be satisfactory. I probably shouldn't have expected much more from a film written by Richard Curtis. |
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Post by Vits on Nov 1, 2019 14:41:54 GMT
YESTERDAY is about a man named JACK MALIK who wakes up in a world where The Beatles' music never existed, but he remembers it and pretends that he wrote it. That's very interesting, because the time period a song was released in is more relevant than you might think. Some songs are enjoyed by young people of every generation, but listeners use a different standard for older songs (even if its subconsciously). They might not enjoy a new song written and performed in the same style. Would they like a Beatles song if they thought it was new? Would they compare it to modern music? What would modern music would be like if the Beatles weren't around to lay the groundwork for it? Unfortunately, this movie doesn't fully explore it. It's more focused on being a rom-com. Luckily, it's a rom-com co-written by Richard Curtis. He has an ability to take premises that aren't very original and embellish them with incredibly likeable characters, humour that's both light and clever, and over-the-top yet touching displays of affection. This is no exception, even though a fair amount of jokes feel like something anyone could write. While ABOUT TIME delved more into the fantasty genre, it managed to be more logical, because it followed its own rules, while this plot has a couple of holes: -When JACK sings the title song, his friends think he wrote it. He says it's a Beatles song and they look confused. One of them talks about JACK knowing obscure musicians. That's right. This is a "Liar revealed" story where the liar reveals himself very early on. For some reason, by the next scene, the friends have forgotten about this conversation. -JACK visits JOHN LENNON, who's alive in this timeline. So... The Beatles do exist but they never became a band? What prevented that from happening?
-When JACK confesses the truth to the world, he names the band members. Assuming all 4 of them are alive, don't they notice that a famous singer is giving them credit for something they don't remember doing? Won't people try to find them?
Is this the first movie about a person whose everyday life is turned upside down by an unexplained, seemingly magical event... and things don't go back to normal at the end? I guess it's because re-writing history to make LENNON be dead again would be kind of like killing him, right? Speaking of, during the Moscow concert, a man stares intensely at JACK. Later on, we find out who he is. However, my first thought was "This is either Mark David Chapman or someone who'll become obsessed in a similar way." Himest Patel and Lily James' performances are good, and they both have a lot of chemistry. All Ed Sheeran had to do was keep a straight face while others said or did odd things. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but let's give him some credit. Not everyone can make the audience believe in what they're saying, even when they're playing themselves. Also, he does have a couple of serious moments, and he remains believable. You know who didn't make me believe in what she was saying? Kate McKinnon. She usually steals the show, but her exagerated schtick feels out of place in this style of comedy. Many modern directors make the mistake of filming their comedy movie in a boring way. I'm glad that director Danny Boyle was aware of this and tried to avoid it, but I think he went a little overboard. The unusual angles don't compliment the scene in the same way as with his dramas and thrillers. At times, they even distract. 7/10 ------------------------------------- You can read comments of other movies in my blog. |
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Post by politicidal on Dec 25, 2021 22:18:30 GMT
8/10.
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