The film to beat this summer!

Imagine a world where you are a struggling singersongwriter and suddenly you are the only person alive, so it seems, who remembers The Beatles. What do you do? Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) succumbs to temptation, appropriates the songs and becomes a global sensation. Ah, but what does he lose along the way? It’s a bonkers premise and the film twists and turns in a fairly bonkers way, but the bizarre combination of Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis produces pure cinematic gold in a film which really is a delight from first to last. In truth, it feels far more Curtis than Boyle. If Boyle’s there at all, he’s definitely gone AWOL. Instead, we get all those tics and traits of Curtis: the bumbling, mumbling, awkward guy who really can’t verbalise his feelings, the pretty girl who somehow just can’t seem to drag him out of his shell and, of course, the obligatory mad dash to a public transport hub, in this case a railway station etc etc. But the great thing is that even when Curtis is riffing on his favourite themes to the point of almost overfamiliarity, he still does so with a charm which is absolutely all his own – and with a wit which will have you laughing out loud. Yesterday is funny. Very funny. And even when it isn’t you’ll find yourself grinning from ear to ear. It’s a plea for emotional honesty, even a plea for a little emotional bravery, but it is all delivered with a warmth and a heart which are irresistible -– helped immeasurably by cracking performances by Patel and by childhood best friend, Ellie (a Lily James who manages to look far more like Keira Knightley than she does Lily James). Add to that an Ed Sheeran gamely taking the mick out of himself and wrap it all up in the songs of The Beatles, and small wonder we’re firing on all cylinders. Maybe it dips just a little in the middle in the US section; it’s on a firmer footing when it’s stressing that Jack is just an ordinary guy from an unfashionable seaside town – which is, of course, precisely the point. But even as you are watching it, you will find yourself looking forward to the DVD, knowing you will watch it time and time again. Curtis always hits the mark for the simple reason that however mad the fantasy, the thoughts and feelings are always true.