"Voicemails for Isabelle" is a romantic drama on Netflix starring Zoey Deutch as Jill, an aspiring pastry chef grieving the death of her younger sister, Isabelle, played by Ciara Bravo.
Nick Robinson stars as Wes, a stranger who unexpectedly becomes the recipient of Jill’s deeply personal voicemails.
Jill leaves her Texas hometown for San Francisco, determined to make a name for herself as a pastry chef. Her new life, however, is far from the dream she imagined. She struggles under the outbursts of her arrogant boss, Chef Bastien, while also dealing with homesickness and the loss of her beloved sister.
Jill and Isabelle were extremely close. Isabelle’s cystic fibrosis kept her largely housebound, meaning she experienced much of life vicariously through Jill’s adventures.
The story opens with a young Jill experiencing her first school kiss and rushing home to excitedly tell her sister, Isabelle. This childhood memory sets up their lifelong bond and sharing habit.
Early in the movie, Isabelle passes away before Jill has time to get back home.
Even after Isabelle’s death, Jill continues to feel connected to her by leaving messages on her old phone number, telling her about the frustrations of work, her loneliness, and her disastrous love life.
What Jill doesn’t know is that Isabelle’s old number has been reassigned to Wes, an estate agent in Texas. Wes begins listening to the messages and gradually learns intimate details about Jill’s life.
Wes also realises that Isabelle is dead after a while. His friends tell him that he should stop listening to the voicemails and maybe block Jill, but he doesn't.
While his interest in her initially feels more than a little creepy, the story takes a distinctly romantic turn when an opportunity brings Wes to San Francisco for a couple of weeks.
Because of Jill’s voicemails, Wes already knows some of her favourite places and foods. In true romantic-comedy fashion, he goes to meet her but cannot bring himself to reveal the truth about how he knows so much about her.
He finds Jill at a spot overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and they start talking. The night goes so well that Jill says she’ll show him around San Francisco.
Jill makes him dinner and tells him about how she ended up cooking originally to make meals for her sister while they were at home. This creates one of the film’s biggest tensions. There are several moments when you find yourself thinking, Surely this is when Wes is finally going to tell Jill everything. Instead, he keeps the secret, and the inevitable revelation arrives at precisely the moment when their relationship seems to be going so well.
While the romance is an important part of the story, "Voicemails for Isabelle" is ultimately much more about grief, sisterly love and learning how to move forward after loss. Jill’s decision to keep leaving messages for Isabelle is something many viewers can relate to.
Grief affects everyone differently, and sometimes we hold onto the smallest reminders of someone we have lost, from photographs, recordings, old messages or, in Jill’s case, voicemails.
Zoey Deutch gives Jill a performance that effectively balances comedy with genuine heartbreak. The film allows her character to be funny, vulnerable and imperfect while showing how deeply the loss of her sister continues to affect her.
Fans of the 1990s classic "You’ve Got Mail" may find the premise familiar, with its unexpected connection between two strangers evolving into romance. However, "Voicemails for Isabelle" gives the concept a more contemporary and emotionally heavier twist.
Ultimately, this is not simply a romantic comedy. At its heart, it is a story about two sisters, the complicated journey of grief and the struggle to let go without forgetting.
Rating: ★★★ (3/5): The romance between Jill and Wes becomes part of Jill’s healing, rather than the entire story. It is that combination of heartbreak, humour and hope that gives "Voicemails for Isabelle" its emotional appeal.
taschica.pillay@nationalmg.co.za