A romantic dramedy about two people who develop an unexpected connection through a series of messages, Voicemails For Isabelle is a charming film, with an easy chemistry between the leads and an emotional payoff that proves surprisingly moving.
I think we all know that Netflix romance movies are pretty hit-or-miss. Mostly miss. My Oxford Year is awful, and The Wrong Paris and The Life List are both decent, but I have yet to feel like there is a really good romance to be found. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I think it just happened.
Voicemails For Isabelle is about Jill, an aspiring chef whose sister Isabelle has been her closest friend and confidant since they were babies. Isabelle has cystic fibrosis, and the two women leave dozens of voicemails for each other when they are apart. When Isabelle passes away, Jill continues to call her phone number and leave voicemails for her best friend, just as she always had. Wes, a businessman who has recently acquired a work phone with Isabelle’s former number, listens to the voicemails and gets curious about the woman leaving them.
This is a great watch. Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson have fantastic chemistry together, and they are each incredibly likable on their own.
There is a lot of unexpected depth to this movie. They got me right out of the gate with mentions of The Fault In Our Stars, The Notebook, and A Walk To Remember, and the way the sisters talk to each other is playful and real. I could have listened to their knowing banter for the entire film.
The story, while filling out a fairly typical format, is also unique. Wes gets to know Jill in the most intimate and open way as he listens to her voicemails for her sister. There is no pretense, Jill and Isabelle have all of the inside jokes that Jill plays into, and she is being her most authentic – and vulnerable – self during these calls. It sets up a very complicated situation that makes for a wonderful viewing experience.
It’s also great that Jill has a full life, dreams ahead of her, and supportive parents. In a supporting role that took me about 10 minutes to realize was him (and I only noticed because of his voice), Nick Offerman plays a Top Chef contestant who now runs a serious pastry shop where Jill works. She and others are vying to move up in the kitchen ranks, but, for now, she is the queen of kumquats. She prepares kumquats all day, every day.
Voicemails For Isabelle is a bittersweet feel-good movie that had me laughing in the beginning, investing emotionally in the middle, and tearing up at the end. There are some uneven moments, but it comes back together, and its earnestness is its strength. Good job, Netflix. You got one!
I think we all know that Netflix romance movies are pretty hit-or-miss. Mostly miss. My Oxford Year is awful, and The Wrong Paris and The Life List are both decent, but I have yet to feel like there is a really good romance to be found. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I think it just happened.
