Voicemails For Isabelle (2026) – Review and Summary

Voicemails For Isabelle shows that, if Zoey Deutch wanted to, she could easily become an icon within the romance genre.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“Voicemails For Isabelle” Film Details

  • Director(s): Leah McKendrick
  • Writer(s): Leah McKendrick
  • Runtime: 1 Hour(s) and 58 Minutes
  • Public Release Date (Netflix): June 19, 2026
  • Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Romance, Young Adult
  • Content Rating: Rated TV-14
  • Primary Language: English
  • Images © of / Courtesy Of Netflix

Movie Summary

While Jill goes on dates, enjoys sex, and wouldn’t mind a boyfriend, for most of her life, it was clear the love of her life would always be her little sister Isabelle, aka Izzy. They danced to Robyn together, understood each other’s humor, and could be open about anything and everything with one another. But eventually, phone calls went unanswered, and all Jill could do was leave voicemails.

Enter a young man named Wes who gets Izzy’s number and hears these voicemails, and begins to fall in love with Jill. But, because of how he falls in love, and his own issues, so comes the question of whether Wes becomes the latest story Jill leaves Izzy a voicemail about, or someone who changes the subject and isn’t just another weird, exciting, tragic or cringe story, but someone who gives Jill hope that, Izzy might be the love of her life, but Wes could come a close second.

Cast and Characters

Jill (Zoey Deutch)

  • Character Summary: Jill is a chef, mainly in cooking rather than by actual title, whose love for cooking came from doing experiments with and feeding her little sister, Isabelle. Someone who often gave Jill the permission to be wholly herself, including getting into fights and speaking up when something isn’t right. But while a fighter, it is only because Jill feels deeply, and on the other end, she is a little bit of a crier too.

Isabelle aka Izzy (Ciara Bravo)

  • Character Summary: With cystic fibrosis, Isabelle has spent most of her life sick and unable to really live life as he sister has. But, with being so close, she has lived vicariously, to a point. But she does have interests and dreams outside her parents’ house; it’s just not clear when those dreams might become a reality.

Wes (Nick Robinson)

  • Character Summary: Wes works in commercial real estate, and his dating life seems deeply affected by his mother dying and how that affected how he sees or treats the concept of love.

Andy (Harry Shum Jr.)

  • Character Summary: Andy is Wes’ play cousin, via their moms being close and them growing up together.

Breeda (Leah McKendrick)

  • Character Summary: Breeda is like Wes’ big sister, because of how she has integrated into Wes’ life, while dating Andy. She is also the one who quickly, with pristine execution, calls him out on his BS.

Review and Commentary

Highlight(s)

A Love Between Siblings Intense Like You’ve Never Seen Before [87/100]

While siblings in movies are certainly not new, I don’t think, for me, a movie has shown the intensity of that, especially with one half of the duo not physically in the majority of the movie. I would say it is akin to how people personify New York City or LA, places that can’t interact or speak, but have had such a profound effect on someone that they are alive. That’s how Izzy can sometimes feel in this movie.

Yes, she was a living, breathing person, likely got to her early 20s, and was an integral part of Jill’s life, allowing her to be the eccentric person we meet and love in the movie. But there is something different here. Maybe it is because Izzy was written and performed with dignity. Stuck in the house more often than not, but she still had personality, talked about sex, and wasn’t defined by her sickness? Never mind, clearly gave as much as she could get regarding Jill, in terms of an eccentric best friend.

I can’t say for certain, being raised an only child, what it was between Jill and Izzy which was so affecting, but it does remind me why I, and most people who grew up without siblings in the household, desperately wanted a younger sibling.

Wes and Jill Are Cute [83/100]

Wes as a character, and his story, had an uphill battle. Not only did he have a shallow sob story, regarding his mother dying, with no mention of who raised him in her absence, but then the slight creep factor of him listening to Jill’s voicemails to Izzy, and using that to get Jill to fall in love with him. Now, compared to the other guys Jill went out with, even slept with, Wes using his knowledge and charm as he did does allow for some form of redemption. However, at first, even his friends call him out.

But, what turns things around is the realization that what bonds Wes and Jill isn’t grief, him of his mom, and her of her sister, but their pursuit for the kind of life the person they loved the most would want them to have. Not just in finding an ideal partner, but following their dreams and doing something they not only love, but are good at.

It’s another angle to Voicemails For Isabelle, which stands out because it doesn’t feel formulaic. Which isn’t to say the inevitable doesn’t happen, and there isn’t a grand gesture for reconciliation. The film isn’t completely trying to re-write the outline for romance movies. But it builds enough complexity into Wes and Jill’s relationship that forgiveness, whether it leads to the relationship having closure or continuing, feels realistic.

Andy and Breeda [82/100]

I don’t know if Breeda and Andy feel notable because the writer/director plays Breeda and made sure to give herself something to work with, or because they are just that good of characters. However, Andy being Wes’ play cousin, Breeda like a big sister, I think immensely helped Wes’ journey from weirdo, who relied on sad puppy eyes, to someone genuinely likable.

For one, they held him accountable. They addressed the weirdness of him listening to someone’s voicemails, especially considering Jill’s situation. On top of that, they challenged him. Not just regarding his feelings on love and marriage, but also to get out of his own way. They may not have had the expertise to advise him on real estate deals, but they grew up with him, and it is through these two you’re reminded: yes, sometimes the closest relationship you can have is with blood relatives, but chosen family too can also have a profound, unshakeable effect on your life.

Jill Is The Type Of Person You’d Want To Be Best Friends With [85/100]

Let me say though, as much as Jill’s relationships, be it family or romantic, are a major hook for the movie, I’d submit Jill is also the type of character who earns your interest on her own. She is bold, eccentric, capable of putting her head down and doing the work, as shown by her day job, but also has notable blow-ups when treated unfairly.

She is the right balance between unhinged and uninhibited, but not to the point of feeling like she exists purely for other people’s entertainment. Case in point, when she learns about Isabelle, the way Deutch handles her in that scene reminds you that, while not every role she chooses is the best out there, she has an instinct that, with the right co-stars, director, and writer, she is versatile and potentially one of the best of her generation.

I’d even say, a character like Jill, in a mini-series, would have been possible, for she isn’t the type who easily could overstay her welcome.

On The Fence

Jill’s Parents Got Shut Out [76/100]

One of the odd things about this movie is that, considering how intensely Jill loved her sister, the fact that she cut off her parents when Izzy was gone seemed weird. I get the house holds sweet memories, tainted by Isabelle’s death, and they lived far, but shouldn’t she have leaned on them more?

Granted, you can’t tell anyone how they should mourn or handle grief. However, it wasn’t like Jill was estranged from her parents or had beef. So as much as it was sweet that Jill relied on leaving voicemails and listening to old voicemails to soothe herself, not also relying on the people who raised her, who were part of those memories, was curious.

Overall

Our Rating (82/100): Positive (Worth Seeing)

Voicemails For Isabelle is guaranteed to make you cry, laugh, admire the talents of its actors and the writer/director, and also question why Sony didn’t release this in theaters.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.