Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a soulful if brooding young man, with a very pleasant singing voice. But when we meet him, the fledgling songwriter and supermarket clerk from coastal England feels stuck in the middle of a hard day’s night. If he doesn’t get any help soon, he’ll end up a real nowhere man.
And so, after one more desultory gig attended by just a few lonely people, he tells his childhood friend and volunteer manager, Ellie (Lily James), that it’s over: He’s hanging up his gently weeping guitar.
But then, something inexplicable happens. On a bike ride home, the street lights go out; Jack collides with a bus. Awakening later in the hospital, he learns from Ellie that the electricity went out – all over the world! – for 12 seconds.
He makes a joke about being 64. Ellie has no idea what he means. Soon, Jack will realize the enormity of what’s happened: Nobody remembers The Beatles, except for him. Incredibly, the immense Beatles catalog is all his, to introduce to the world.
This is the tantalizing premise of “Yesterday,” directed by Danny Boyle and starring, more than any actor, a slew of classic Beatles tunes. What a great idea, and what questions it raises: Would we love those iconic songs today the way we did the first time? Would they be as appealing in someone else’s voice? Would some of the tunes soar, and others flop? Would a post #MeToo world accept, for example, a song by an older man about a 17-year-old girl?