Jack Malik is a struggling singer-songwriter from Lowestoft who plays gigs to tiny crowds. His manager and childhood friend Ellie Appleton encourages him not to give up on his dreams. During a global power outage, Jack is hit by a bus. After recovering, he sings the Beatles song “Yesterday” for his friends and discovers they have never heard of the Beatles. Jack begins performing Beatles songs, passing them off as his own.Yesterday 2019
Ellie has Jack record a demo with Gavin, a local music producer. Following a performance on local television, Jack is invited by pop star Ed Sheeran to play as his opening act in Moscow. Ellie declines to join him, saying she must work at her day job as a schoolteacher, so Jack’s roadie friend Rocky travels with him instead. After the gig, Sheeran challenges Jack to a songwriting duel, after Jack plays “The Long and Winding Road”, he graciously accepts defeat. In Los Angeles, Sheeran’s ruthless manager Debra Hammer signs Jack to her label and engineers his rise to global fame.At Jack’s going-away party before his permanent move to L.A., Ellie confesses that she has always been in love with him. Jack starts recording an album at EastWest Studios, but cannot remember the lyrics for “Eleanor Rigby.”
Hoping to trigger memories, Jack goes to the Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool, visiting landmarks such as Strawberry Field, Penny Lane, and the grave of Eleanor Rigby. Ellie joins him in Liverpool, and they spend a drunken evening and kiss, but Ellie tells Jack she is not interested in a one-night stand. The next morning, Jack and Rocky pursue Ellie to the train station, where she congratulates Jack but tells him she cannot be a part of his celebrity life. Jack returns to Los Angeles heartbroken and desperate to have a normal life again, while Ellie begins dating Gavin.