EastEnders star unrecognisable in ‘brilliant’ rom-com – just days left | Films | Entertainment
Danny Boyle’s 2019 romantic comedy, Yesterday, is celebrated as a creative tribute to The Beatles.
The film, with a screenplay by Richard Curtis and a shared story credit between Jack Barth and Curtis, presents a fictional tale while simultaneously honouring the iconic band.
The makers of Yesterday shelled out nearly $10 million to license The Beatles’ discography. Although none of the surviving members or their families were directly involved in the film, Boyle stated he had their approval before starting the project.
Yesterday premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in May 2019 and was released in cinemas in the UK and US in June of the same year. The musical rom-com raked in $155 million worldwide against a production budget of $26 million.
The film stars EastEnders actor Himesh Patel, supported by Lily James, Joel Fry, Ed Sheeran, and Kate McKinnon. Boyle reportedly chose Patel for the lead role after hearing him perform the Beatles songs Yesterday and Back in the U.S.S.R. during auditions, reports Surrey Live.
Ed Sheeran, a member of the cast, revealed on BBC Radio 1’s Kids Ask Difficult Questions segment that he was the third choice for his role: “They asked Chris Martin, he said no, they asked Harry Styles, he said no, and I was third choice.”
He added: “Yesterday was funny though because Richard Curtis wrote it and he lives in Suffolk and he knows me and my wife very well. And If you look at that movie, the premise is a bloke who gets really, really, really famous round the world, and it’s a bit unbelievable that he got really, really famous round the world…[he] comes from Suffolk… so there are all these factors in it where I was like, has he sort of written this about me? Anyway, they asked Chris Martin, he said no, they asked Harry Styles, he said no and I was third choice. That is 100% true.”
A Vanity Fair review of the film stated: “Ultimately, Yesterday is a victim of the amnesia it inflicts upon its characters.”
Another critic penned: “The structure is a mess. The characters are plastic. And the lines are Seventies sitcom bad.”
In a chat with Billboard, Paul McCartney disclosed that he and his wife, Nancy Shevell, saw the film at a cinema in The Hamptons and “loved it.”
Director Danny Boyle also sent copies of the finished film to Ringo Starr and his wife, Barbara, as well as to George Harrison’s widow, Olivia, receiving “lovely messages” from both. John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, also gave her approval of the film’s portrayal of her late husband.
Yesterday performed decently with audiences and garnered largely positive reviews. One viewer penned: “Genuinely wonderful and heartfelt piece of what is actually science fiction. Left me wanting more and moved.”
One fan remarked: “One of my favourite movies of all time… Lily James and Himesh Patel are charming together, and with the Beatles soundtrack, the movie is a joy! Ed Sheeran and Kate McKinnon seamlessly come in and out of the story, and for those of us around in the sixties, the movie strikes a chord. A must see!”
Yesterday is available to stream for free on BBC iPlayer till June 17
Another viewer penned: “Brilliant from start to finish! Some classic lines. Directed by Danny Boyle with the Richard Curtis magic touch….what more could you ask for….Ed Sheeran makes a good stab at acting too.”
A third chimed in: “Interesting concept and it was great to see it play out in this rom-com. Glad it was not a standard biopic and had its own story idea.”
