Yesterday- the film.

Yesterday - the film.

From a chronological point of view yesterday is the day before today but we all know that. Yesterday the song is, indisputably, one of the most famous songs ever written. It was composed by the most famous pop band and will always be instantly hummable and recognisable because for those of a certain generation it was just there, designed to be appreciated, revered and much loved. It was the kind of song that none of us will ever forget because whether we're in the shower, bath, kitchen, or any place in the world, we'll know that a masterpiece had been completed just for us.

But Yesterday the film, currently appearing at a movie screen near you, is a fabulous, moving, deeply emotional movie that taps in so perfectly into the narratives and themes of our lives, that when we wake up tomorrow morning we'll probably understand the much bigger picture of life when the sun streams through the blinds or curtains of our lives and we then set about tucking into our breakfasts.

 Yesterday is mushy, soppy, funny, accurate and extremely clever. It explores the subjects that we take for granted; relationships, love, fierce ambitions, passionate desires and then a whirlpool of fraud, deception and, most tragically towards the end of the film, delusions of grandeur. It peels back all of the complex layers of a life spent in a tangled web of lies and betrayals. Yesterday is honest, revealing, insightful, intelligently constructed and full of the joys of misty eyed nostalgia.

Our story begins with Jack Mallik aka Himesh Patel, setting out on the road to fame with nothing but a weeping guitar around his neck. Now how corny is that a reference to the Beatles and George Harrison? After cruising the clubs and bars of Suffolk, Jack bumps into Ellie, played with superb gusto by Lily James. Jack and Ellie pretend they're in love but then do their utmost to repress their affection for each other when Ellie insists that she's only Jack's manager or words to that effect.

After travelling back from a local gig, Jack straps himself onto a motor bike, thundering off into the blue beyond before tragedy strikes - well, not quite but a mini disaster all the same. Jack crashes into another vehicle, spins through the air in slow motion and then lands on a severely wounded face. While in hospital, Ellie visits Jack who by now looks like something out of a horror movie. Jack is minus two front teeth and has most the swollen, black and blue mouth you're ever likely to see.

And then Jack. perhaps burdened with too much pain and discomfort, finds comfort in epic Beatles songs. He strums his trusty guitar, believing quite confidently that everybody will have heard Hey Jude and Yesterday. How foolish an assumption. Frantically tapping away at his computer, Jack looks desperately for any information that would confirm his assertion that the Beatles were the most memorable boy band of the 1960s and, quite possibly, all time.

Frustratingly this is where Jack comes unstuck. Now he finds only the beetle of the insect variety and, hilariously, John and Paul are historical popes. No matter how hard Jack tries and scrambles around for any hint or confirmation of the Beatles existence there's nothing. It's rather like a world that time forget in as much that everybody Jack meets thinks he's nuts.

Walking into his family living room the glorious Meera Syal, after much deliberation and some lively banter with her real life husband Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jack loses patience with his joking parents before finally storming out of the room and never seemingly coming back again. We are now confronted with joyous one liners, rib tickling comedy and thick dollops of humour.

Yesterday is splendidly summed up by the scene where all of Jack's faithful band crew who, on listening to Hey Jude and Yesterday can only drool at something they believe that Jack has so beautifully committed to paper. When Jack re-assures his friends that he had nothing to do with such honeyed lyricism, there is a hollow and stunned silence. Who on earth are the Beatles?

Then Jack is confronted with the American TV chat show circuit where one of Britain's most treasured comedians James Corden takes Jack to task, questioning directly the aspirational wannabe pop star on his dubious claims to have written some of the most original and evocative pop songs ever written. Corden insists that Jack is just some cheap plagiarist determined to pull the wool over everybody. The dark shadow of guilt hovers over Jack rather like some sinister light in a 1950s gangster film.

It is at this point that Deborah aka Kate Mckinnon, a straight talking, fast living American agent, becomes deeply and emotionally involved in the rise and fall of her by now very gullible client. She sweeps across America' record studios, driving hard bargains while Jack doesn't quite know who to believe or where to go. 

Eventually it all seems to blow up in Jack's face. Ellie, with whom Jack is now rapidly falling in love with, begins to suspect that something isn't quite right.There are rows and bust ups, disagreements here and there before Jack makes the final decision to hit the big time. In a scene reminiscent of Brief Encounter where Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard meet for that iconic cup of tea at a railway station. Jack, mistakenly believing that he must have missed the train on which Ellie was travelling, looks back joyfully at the cafe behind him where Ellie is patiently waiting for Jack to change his mind.

Now our story takes its final twist. Jack, at the peak of his powers, has been booked to appear before his fanatical followers at Wembley Stadium. Guitar screeching, his fans at their most feverish and adoring, Jack stomps across the stage, posing and posturing all the while, confidently stating his case with his truly rock and roll interpretation of those unmistakable Beatles classics. Suddenly, in a heart sinking pang of conscience Jack can no longer live with the knowledge that he was not the man who recorded the Fab Four's remarkable song book. It was time to say sorry for pulling a fast one.

In one of the film's most moving moments Jack, shamefacedly gazing at his audience. confesses his sins. After an astonished pause and gulp of breath, the Wembley Stadium goes wild, cheering endlessly at this most painful admission. Of course it ends up happily ever after because weepies normally do.

Jack and Ellie get married, his entourage get all happy, clappy supportive and everybody ends up singing yet another version of Hey Jude, Yesterday, Get Back and one, full blast rendition of Sergeant Peppers. Something tells me that you'll love Yesterday because it just makes you feel so good about yourself. There is nothing rude or controversial about it and it's all very clean. What more could you possibly wish for in a film? Not a great deal.