We bought the soundtrack today, and we noticed a lot more little lyrics changes. Do you think that is a deliberate choice to show Jack couldn’t remember the words, or some attempt to skirt copyright infringement?
“play the Summer Song!”
Here’s a question concerning the Lennon scene.
Here’s one line:
John Lennon: I just said very happy. That means successful. I did a job I enjoyed day after day. Sailed the world. Fought for things I believed in, and won a couple of times. Found a woman I loved. Fought hard to keep her too. Lived my life with her.
My wife thinks the woman is, or could be, Yoko; I think the woman is just someone else, some effectively random woman. Probably in the 70s or later after he stopped being a woman beater.
She also thinks this line is explaining the movie. This is why the Beatles never formed - Lennon made a choice, and the choice was a relationship, not a rock and roll career.
“Tell the girl you love that you love her. And tell the truth to everyone whenever you can.” I think this line is explaining what Lennon learned later in life, maybe even after 1980.
I just saw this on a plane and I enjoyed it.
There’s a lot you just have to go with. Would these songs be hits today, sung by somebody else? It’s debatable. But that’s what happens in the film. In real life, would Jack become such a big star so quickly? Probably not. But that’s what happens in the film. It’s kind of a parable, when you think about it.
So I thought it was a nice, light, enjoyable rom-com, made slightly deeper by Jack’s increasing sense of guilt paralleling his rise to fame. Nicely done.
But for me, there were two big missed opportunities:
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The two other people who remembered the Beatles were underused. Something extraordinary has happened, and these three are the only people in the world who know about it. What an incredible bonding experience! They could have talked for hours, sharing their experiences with one another. Maybe they stay with him to help him re-create the songs. At the very least, they should stay in touch. But they have a 3-minute conversation and are apparently gone for good.
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It’s established that Jack and Ellie’s friendship began when he sang “Wonderwall” at a school talent show. But after the accident, Oasis is gone as well as the Beatles. The film never went any further into that. Does she remember him singing a different song? Did that affect their relationship in the new timeline? I thought for sure that he would sing “Wonderwall” for her at some point, perhaps helping to win her love. But, nothing. It was like a Chekov’s gun that was never fired.
Still, a fun movie for what it was.
This feels like the kind of thing they might have written but that ended up on the cutting room floor.
That stuff likely would have happened, but it’s not particularly relevant to the story they told. The purpose of those two people was, first, to fuel Jack’s fears that he would be found out, and then to point him toward the solution: He doesn’t have to feel bad about playing this music for everyone, he just shouldn’t take credit for it.
I also thought this was weird. They probably should have just cut the stuff about Oasis not existing, since it didn’t really go anywhere and left some weird holes. Maybe it’s some kind of Oasis fan in-joke? Like did Oasis start as a cover band for Beatles songs or something?
I remember when Oasis’s multi-platinum album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? was released. All of the reviews mentioned the Beatles influence on their music. (I liked the album, by the way; too bad the Gallagher brothers could not get along.)
Finally watched this tonight. Amazon has the rental on sale for $2.99.
I really enjoyed this movie. It was well paced and clever enough. I got a little frustrated with the main character waiting so long to say I love you to Ellie but the rest was good.
The music was obviously great, the moment with John Lennon was real exceptional. What a great job there. I really enjoyed Kate McKinnon.
Another bump. My wife and I just saw this tonight. We are Beatles fans and we like rom-coms, and we enjoyed this movie quite a bit. We struggle with British accents, so at times we’d miss 10-20% of the dialogue.
We enjoyed the music, but we missed the good Beatles harmony with just Himesh Patel singing most songs solo. I definitely liked Lily James here and I look forward to seeing more of her. I did not care for Kate McKinnon in this movie, but maybe that’s more because I didn’t care for the character she played.
Throughout the movie I was expecting to see a Paul cameo, perhaps as a listener in a bar or at a concert with a trite something like, “These songs are pretty good.” But instead I really liked the John scene and thought that was well done. Quite touching.
Did anyone else like me expect that Eleanor Rigby was going to be playing during the final credits?
We have a 15 year old niece. Two years ago she asked for Beatles music for her birthday. We got her the red greatest hits album (yes vinyl) and she loved it. Played it all the time. Later for Christmas we gave her the blue album, and to this day I am her favorite uncle. Young-uns these days, they do know their Beatles.
Likewise we have a 23 year old nephew and ten years ago he went through a big Beatles kick. As a result he may know more songs and lyrics than I do, and I know a lot of them by memory.
We enjoyed the movie very much.
I’ve seen the movie again since it’s on one of the premium cable channels and I wonder about one bit. At the end, when he reveals that the songs are not his, I think he says the Beatles’ names and I think mentions they’re from Liverpool, so I wonder if the media went to look for them.
Just be glad you never said Michelle ma belle; sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble. to her. She might have sicced HR on your ass.
Well, if she spoke French.
My wife and I had that debate after we watched the movie, and we came to “Yes,” pretty quickly.
I’ve heard the Beatles’ version, and a few covers, of “Yesterday” my entire life. I’ve sung along with it hundreds of times. But when Patel played it for his friends, I was astonished at what a beautiful work of art it is.
The same happened with one or two other songs as well. (I don’t remember; we saw it over a year ago.) The film does an amazing job of highlighting how phenomenal the Beatles’ music — as music, separate from their musicianship and personalities and stardom and all — really is.
It’s worth noting that no song in history has been covered as many times as “Yesterday” (over 1600 recordings, according Guinness).
I’m sure they would. It might just be a 48-hour story, though.
I felt the same about The Long and Winding Road. It’s not a Beatles song I particularly cared for, but even though Jack’s rendition wasn’t very different, it felt (to me) very soulful and heartfelt, and I found a love for the song that I didn’t know was possible.
Because you told her “these are words that go together well”? Even in these times, that doesn’t rise to harrassment.
Well we had it as a 2-day rental so we decided to watch it again, for 2 days in a row for my wife and me.
Still enjoyable and fun!
On Kate McKinnon — she was great and must’ve had a lot of fun playing that part.
Lily James was fantastic. This movie was the first I’d ever seen her in. Yesterday I thought they made her appearance up to be more frumpy at the beginning of the movie, and then later she was made more beautiful. But no, her beauty shines throughout. I must admit my bias, she has the look I like, and I’m fortunate to have married a girl with similar qualities. But my wife is a fair bit older. Well yeah me too. I’m a fortunate guy.
Joel Fry, as Rocky — I really liked him. I look forward to seeing him more in future parts.
I still love the John Lennon scene. His quote is great, “You want a good life? It’s not complicated. Tell the girl you love that you love her. And tell the truth to everyone whenever you can.” Something he would say.
I first noticed her in the Downton Abbey series, in which she was simply luminous: Lily James | Downton Abbey
Agreed, she is/was. I never watched the show.
Lily James was excellent in Baby Driver, which I think was a great film! She was wonderful here as well.
The character Kate McKinnon played was horrible. A rotten human being I hated looking at. But give McKinnon credit for playing such a revolting character well.
Give Himesh Patel a lot of credit. He is a good actor and performed the songs as well. The guy who played Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody won an Oscar while lip synching. Himesh Patel and Bradley Cooper in Star Is Born deserve much more credit for acting and singing.
One of the reviews I read likened Kate McKinnon’s character to Mephistopheles in the Doctor Faustus story, offering the main character money and fame in exchange for his soul. (And, by the way, that house on the beach was great.)
The lovely Lily James will also star in the new remake of the Daphne du Maurier thriller Rebecca: Rebecca | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube