YESTERDAY

Expected exuberance exsanguinated precipitously in director Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday”; a fascinating, imaginative premise: how would the composers of “yesterday” and their iconic compositions be perceived if heard, for the first time, in today’s popular milieu? Mozart, Wagner, Stravinsky, Gershwin, Jackson, Franklin; according to Boyle, their recognition would be cloned, replicated at the uniform intensity of “yesteryear”.

Himesh Patel (“Jack Malik”) a faux Beatle and Lily James (“Ellie) his perpetually giggling manager (a more noncombustible couple could not be found), artificial, effervescent scenes lacked legitimacy, which possibly had been Boyle’s intent; attraction between opposites imploding. Kate McKinnon as “Deborah”, replaces Ellie as Jack’s high-powered LA manager, pushing the boundaries of mercenary resiliency, she could hold her own in a boxing ring with any gender.

The Beatles and their magical, inimitable creations resonate, and will continue to do so, for millenniums to come; rather than a tribute, “Yesterday” was an anemic metaphor for actualizing your dream through your eyes, not as an imposter of an established great.

TWO STARS!!

Peneflix