(courtesy IMP Awards)
SNAPSHOT
Voicemails for Isabelle charts an unexpected romance between Jill (Zoey Deutch) & Wes (Nick Robinson). After her sister Isabelle (Ciara Bravo) dies, Jill copes by continuing to leave her new voicemails. About everything from her boss Chef Bastien’s (Nick Offerman) insufferable antics to how heartbroken she is without her best friend. Wes, an Austin real estate agent, gets a new work phone and is assigned Isabelle’s old number. Unbeknownst to Jill, Wes gets to listen in on her hilariously confessional messages about her life as an aspiring pastry chef in San Francisco. One voicemail at a time, Wes starts to fall in love with Jill, as they sit on different benches across the country from each other. Wes decides to make feelings known and turns up in SF. But things get even more complicated when he puts off telling Jill the bittersweet reason he’s drawn to her… Voicemails for Isabelle is written and directed by by the Nicaraguan-Scottish-Irish actor / writer / filmmaker Leah McKendrick, director of the film Scrambled and a few other shorts previously. It’s produced by Todd Black, Becky Sanderman, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch. (courtesy First Showing)
I’ve got to be honest – Voicemails for Isabelle is giving off considerable lightweight Hallmark romcom vibes.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that in one sense: escaping into some frothy cinematic romance can be just what someone weighed down by the incessant demands of the digital age lifestyle needs to lower the stress a bit.
But even so, they can feel a little unsatisfying; but in the case of this film, I’m willing to dive on in because who doesn’t want to believe there is a love, life and hope beyond the life shattering chaos of grief?
We all do, and frankly this looks charming and sweet enough to make you feel like perhaps romance does lie beyond the worst day of your life …
Voicemails for Isabelle premieres on Netflix on 19 June.