Voicemails for Isabelle is a movie which, to some extent, stands on the shoulders of giants. Whether or not you love a romcom, classics have been made. Often schmaltzy, but always ‘feel good’, from the ‘meet cute’ to the guaranteed happy ending. Even Shakespeare wrote them, and the tropes of mistaken identity and various shenanigans remain. 

Broadly, this plot is based on Jill, played by Zoey Deutch, leaving voicemails for her sister Izzy after she has died. Unknown to her, Izzy’s number now belongs to a handsome young realtor, Wes, played by Nick Robinson. Wes listens to the messages and, fascinated, tracks Jill down. Wes means to, but fails to reveal, he has been listening to the voicemails. 

As other characters point out, it is ‘creepy’ that Wes doesn’t immediately admit to Jill that he has found her through the voicemails. Bypassing this, Wes’ character seems underdeveloped and fails to adequately engage the audience. 

Jill’s character is more accessible, mostly through music and flashbacks. Particularly, when they show the fun times and bonds which she has developed with her sister Izzy, who is bedridden with cystic fibrosis. Through these flashbacks, we can empathise with Jill’s tremendous grief when her sister dies. This movie uses Robyn’s anthem ‘Dancing on My Own’ as a defiant response to grief, giving an example of how to work through and conquer the pain. The repetition of this song provides the film with some gravitas. 

There is a strong streak of self-awareness running through, with numerous references to other romcoms: Notting Hill, Bridget Jones, and references to their various stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, and Hugh Grant. This becomes awkward when even the characters recognise and reference the format, when in the final moments a friend tells Wes, as the New Year chimes are about to strike, ‘This is when you run.’ And off he goes running to find his true love.

Perhaps all romcoms are derivative. By chance, I saw a few minutes of Sleepless in Seattle where the characters watch An Affair to Remember. The latter movie inspired the backbone and central premise of Sleepless in Seattle. Most movies imitate, but despite this, one wishes that Voicemails for Isabelle had dug deeper. Perhaps exploring the grief that Wes admitted to, and therefore providing us with a more memorable movie and not simply a fun romp.

Streaming on Netflix now