With hatred being tossed around freely in the world and war lurking at every corner this year, rom-coms are returning to help viewers believe in love and remind them of humanity.
Netflix’s latest rom-com comes barely a few weeks after the streamer’s Office Romance featuring Jennifer Lopez. However, where the former failed to deliver as a rom-com, Voicemails for Isabelle excels. The film offers a refreshing take on the genre, with a story that breaks you and warms you equally.
Voicemails for Isabelle follows Jill, played by Zoey Deutch, an aspiring baker. After the death of her younger sister, she leaves voice messages for her late sibling, honestly detailing her chaotic career and love life in San Francisco. Unknown to her, Wes (Nick Robinson), a Texan real estate agent, has inherited her sister’s number and is now receiving her tell-it-all messages.
When the film begins, Jill and Isabelle’s unbreakable bond is introduced to viewers. Jill’s personality is loud, free-spirited, healthy and chaotic. Isabelle, on the other hand, who is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, is quiet and often stuck at home. She lives life vicariously through her sister’s chaos and hyperactivity.
Their bond is deep and layered. They eat, dance and do everything together. They are each other’s best friends, partners in crime and safe spaces. Suddenly, Isabelle dies. The pain of her death is not vague but incredibly real, both for Jill and for viewers already invested in their bond.
A profound scene that captures the depth of their relationship is when the doctor informs their parents about Isabelle’s deteriorating condition.
“The antibiotics aren’t working as well…” she says to the devastated parents.
As they turn toward the transparent glass window, they find Isabelle, who is supposed to be “sick,” energetically dancing on her hospital bed to Robyn’s Dancing on My Own, playing from Jill’s high school party. It is truly heartwarming. Isabelle may be dying, but Jill never misses an opportunity to make her sister’s moments memorable, both for Isabelle and for viewers.
In Voicemails for Isabelle, Leah McKendrick’s directing feels natural, pulling emotions from the actors without making them feel forced. Her approach blends themes of grief and love while highlighting empathy, fate and connection. These themes are explored in a way that leaves viewers emotionally wrecked yet hopeful.
Deutch and Robinson’s chemistry in the film is one for the books. From the way they lock eyes to the ease of their dialogue, their connection is convincing enough to make viewers believe in love. Wes wants love but is so afraid of it that he barely knows how to receive it.
His strange, fate-driven connection with Jill opens him up to a side of himself he never knew existed, one capable of loving someone “in a very uncool, desperate, all-consuming kind of way.” Deutch and Robinson deserve praise for the emotional honesty they bring to their performances.
Dialogue in Voicemails for Isabelle constantly demands attention. The film offers memorable lines like, “I’m scared but you make me brave,” and “You made a believer out of me.” For most of the runtime, the dialogue encourages viewers to pause and reflect, with many lines carrying meanings deeper than their surface simplicity.
Still, the film’s strongest conversations remain those between Jill and Isabelle. There is something raw, unfiltered and deeply honest about the way the sisters speak to each other.
Music also serves as an elevating force in Voicemails for Isabelle. The soundtrack strengthens the film’s most romantic and heartbreaking moments. From Robyn’s Dancing on My Own to Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things, the music choices feel emotionally consuming and carefully curated.
Ending the film with the dance-along sequence to Dancing on My Own feels like the perfect resolution to the emotional journey. After more than an hour of heartbreak, the moment becomes a final gift to viewers. It leaves behind an image strong enough to linger long after the credits roll.
Voicemails for Isabelle is for lovers and believers. It is for viewers searching for something honest, emotional and deeply romantic, and it is worth the time spent watching.
Release Date: June 19, 2026
Runtime: 1 hour, 58 minutes.
Streaming Platform : Netflix
Director (s): Leah McKendrick
Cast (s): Zoey Deutch, Nick Robinson, Harry Shum Jr., Leah McKendrick, Ciara Bravo, Toby Sandeman, Nick Offerman, Tanis Dolman, Gil Bellows, Lukas Gage, Alice Comer and Iris Everly.
