One of the very pleasurable movies I saw during my hiatus was “Voicemails for Isabelle.” It’s fair to say that even with how rarely superstitious I am, I agree that there are some movies that you just were meant to see at certain times, and this is one of them. So, let’s get right into it.
And yeah, this is very much spoiler-free...
Voicemails for Isabelle (2026)
Jill’s lifelong dream has been to become a baker. She lives in San Francisco and works under the tyrant-and-slave-master-like Chef Bastien. The highs and the lows of her life are regularly communicated to her sister, Isabelle, who’s back home in Austin and has a long-time terminal condition.
Safe to say that everything changes when Isabelle dies, and the only way Jill can cope with her life, which she now considers even more depressing, is through voicemails to her dead sister’s line. Unbeknownst to her, that line had been reassigned to an Austin-based real estate agent called Wes, and with each voicemail illicitly listened to, he becomes even more intrigued by the woman called Jill.
My Thoughts and Rating
I’ll start by advising that if you know you’re not going to be reviewing a movie immediately, especially one that deeply impacted you, positively or otherwise, please jot down notes somewhere. Your thoughts on certain scenes and stuff like that. So that when you do want to review that film months later, you won’t be at a loss for words, trying to remember the emotions you felt seeing the cinematic piece. Same goes for books, by the way.
Anyway, I went into this movie rather blind. Maybe that’s not putting it right because I knew what to expect. My eyes glazing over in boredom, and my fingers perpetually hovering over the fast-forward button because of the excess of cringe I’m witnessing. So glad, however, to announce that my expectations were cut short, as none of this happened. I was delightfully entertained.
With genres like rom-com, which I have grown a bit of an aversion to, movies and books alike, the plot usually follows a certain way. For whatever reason, girl meets guy; they may or may not get off on a great start, they eventually do, and for a moment their lives feel perfect; something happens: some secret, untruth, lie by omission, you name it. The parties are devastated and separate; some time passes, and they finally reconcile. The end.
While this movie did not, in totality, deviate from this framework, the intrigues and intricacies of the plot made it rather a breath of fresh air. A kind of love and bond that only exists with family. So pure and nearly palpable. That’s the kind of love that exists in this movie. It is wholesome, devoid of needless steamy scenes, and makes for an excellent family watch.
I love that the emphasis was not on the romance in itself, and even when that came into play, they found a realistic way to weave it all into a cinematic masterpiece. Already, the storyline in itself is unique, and not the overused Hollywood plot we’re used to.
I would say I tried my best not to give spoilers, but the truth is, I wouldn’t even be able to, even if I were so inclined. Either way, this is a deliciously beautiful movie, and cliché as it may still be to a few, it was a delight to behold, and a relevant reminder to me of the many amazing forms love takes. 4/5 star rating from me. Would definitely recommend to anyone who loves love, and even those who merely tolerate it.
Jhymi🖤
Images are from IMDb.
