A Universal Picture, Written by Richard Curtis, Directed by Danny Boyle.
A film from Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle, featuring music from the greatest band of all time, and starring Lily James, everything about that screams feels good romantic comedy, and that’s exactly what this film delivers.
While the slightly sci-fi concept is never really delved into and the potentially world altering changes aren’t explored in the fascinating way that they could be, that was never really the films aim. The concept is simply a way to allow for the story to happen, and in this case, that is fine with me.
Following his accident at the same time as a global outage, Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is the only man who remembers the Beatles, and therefore becomes an overnight sensation singing their songs.
I won’t give much more about the plot away, but it doesn’t play out exactly as you would expect, and it is a really well intentioned film, mainly focusing on how dark a world without the Beatles would be.
The best part of the film, apart from the soundtrack, is Lily James. She proves again here, after roles in films like Cinderella, Baby Driver and Mamma Mia 2, that is the most instantly likeable actor of our generation. She has such charisma and warmth to her, as well as her striking good looks and strong emotional acting, and she is the real heart of this film.
Kate McKinnon and Ed Sheeran are slightly bonkers in their supporting roles, but it works within the context of the film.
There is a particular scene that I felt worked incredibly well and was packed full of emotion, and it was where Jack goes to see a 78 year old John Lennon, who has been able to live a long and happy life due to the Beatles never being famous. Robert Carlyle is perfectly cast and the scene will mean a lot to many people, me included.
This isn’t a Boyle and Curtis masterpiece, but it is an incredibly feel good film, with great music and a strong cast.
Rating = 3.5/5
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