Voicemails for Isabelle may have been lauded by critics and viewers alike, but few may know that writer-director Leah McKendrick was inspired by a real-life story when it came to penning the screenplay.
The film, released on Netflix last Friday (19 June), sees Zoey Deutch portray Jill. She's grieving the passing of her sister, Isabelle. She begins to leave voicemails on her late sibling's phone, unaware that the number has been redirected.
Wes (Nick Robinson) is now the recipient of the phone and becomes invested in Jill's life as he hears her messages. With the pair living in San Francisco and Austin respectively, Wes devises a plan to meet — but will he confess his secret?
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In an interview with People, McKendrick shared that the original idea was devised over seven years ago, with the themes of sisterhood being taken from her own life. The voicemail aspect, however, was inspired by a comedy set.
The filmmaker, who also wrote and directed Scrambled, recalled that a friend delivered a routine in which she referenced how her father would leave long voice notes on her phone documenting the mundane aspects of life.
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"Then the next comedian gets on stage and she goes, 'It's so nice that your dad calls you. My dad hasn't called me in three years.' And everyone's kind of like, 'Ooh,' "And then she's like, 'He's dead.'" she recalled. "I was the only one that laughed."
She continued: "It really got the wheels turning, and I thought to myself, it's so funny, this idea of a girl who keeps waiting for her dad to call her back… If my sister died, I'd be waiting for her to call me back. And then I thought, no, if my sister died, I would just keep calling her.
"What a horror story it could be if somebody were to ever hear my most unfiltered self. But you would know that if somebody fell in love with that unfiltered self, it would be real," she added.
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Voicemails for Isabelle was acclaimed by critics upon its release, with Rotten Tomatoes currently reporting an impressive approval rating of 84% from 38 reviews. On IMDb, it has a user rating of 7.5/10 from 12,000 logs, with one viewer calling it "outstanding".
It has also performed well commercially, with FlixPatrol reporting the rom-com currently being the most-viewed film on Netflix in both the UK and the world, ahead of the likes of Husbands in Action and Maternal Instinct.
Voicemails for Isabelle is streaming now on Netflix.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
