The Real Inspiration Behind ‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ Is Even More Heartbreaking Than the Film Itself

Netflix’s newest romantic comedy arrived with a premise that immediately got people asking questions. ‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ landed on the streaming platform on June 19, built around a story rooted in grief, accidental connection, and the raw, unfiltered honesty that only a voicemail can deliver. For a film this emotionally specific, it is only natural that audiences want to know whether any of it actually happened.

The short answer is no. ‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ is a fictional story written by Leah McKendrick. But the longer answer is far more interesting, and far more tender, than a simple fact-check can capture.

How ‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ Blends Fiction With Real Emotion

The movie follows Jill, played by Zoey Deutch, an aspiring baker who is grieving the loss of her younger sister Isabelle, played by Ciara Bravo, by sending her voicemails with updates from her daily life. Unbeknownst to her, Isabelle’s number was reassigned to Wes, played by Nick Robinson, who soon falls in love with Jill because of her bright personality over the phone and seeks her out.

In our instant gratification, social media-driven world, watching a relationship grow across cities is refreshing and reminiscent of cozy rom-com classics like ‘You’ve Got Mail’ and ‘Sleepless in Seattle.’ The sight-unseen premise gives the film an old-fashioned warmth that feels genuinely earned rather than manufactured.

Two different kinds of love stories are in conversation with each other in the film. First is the deep bond between Jill and her sister, who has cystic fibrosis. Isabelle has always been at the center of Jill’s life, even after Jill moved to San Francisco to pursue her dream of becoming a baker.

‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ was originally announced in 2019 with Hailee Steinfeld playing the lead and Sharon Maguire directing, with Sony producing the film. In May 2025, it was announced that McKendrick would be writing and directing the romantic comedy for Netflix, with principal photography beginning in July 2025 in Vancouver, Canada.

The Leah McKendrick Sister Connection That Shaped the Whole Film

While the film’s primary focus is on Jill and Wes’ romance, the story’s idea came from McKendrick’s love for her sister, Olivia. When McKendrick moved to Los Angeles to become a writer and actress, she had regular conversations with her sister, who lived in New York. It was a rough time for her, and these chats helped her process everything and stay motivated to follow her dreams.

McKendrick would vent about failed auditions, bad dates, and the feeling that both her professional and personal dreams might never materialize. Because of the time difference, sometimes her sister was already asleep when she called, so she would leave long voicemails, sometimes crying, talking about whatever date she had just been on or whatever job she did not get. There is something quietly devastating about that image, a young woman pouring her heart out into a phone at midnight, hoping someone on the other end might eventually hear it.

McKendrick described the voicemails as a place where she would just let it all hang out, and noted that if somebody were to fall in love with that unfiltered self, it would be real. Apart from being a romance story, it was important to her to create a love letter to her sister.

McKendrick noted that society’s singular focus on romantic love has put other equally important relationships on the back burner. She wanted to explore the importance of the love a person receives from their siblings and friends, something that cannot be found in a partner, even if they are soulmates.

The Comedy Show Moment That Sparked the Netflix Rom-Com

McKendrick got the idea for ‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ from an unexpected place. Her roommate at the time was partaking in a comedy showcase and had a bit about how her dad would leave her 20-minute-long voicemails about things as mundane as what he ate that day and the weather. Then the next comedian got on stage and said how nice it was that someone’s dad called them, mentioning her own father had not called her in three years, before revealing he was dead.

McKendrick told PEOPLE she was the only one who laughed, and that it really got the wheels turning, making her think about this idea of a girl who keeps waiting for someone to call her back. That single moment of dark comedy in a small comedy room eventually became the emotional engine of a Netflix film.

McKendrick first wrote the rom-com over seven years ago. The script went through considerable changes over the years, shifting the lead character from a screenwriter trapped in an all-male writer’s room to the baker audiences meet in the final cut, but its emotional core never wavered.

What the Grief at the Heart of This Film Actually Means

In a genre often dominated by fluffy, feel-good meet-cutes, ‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ stands apart. Its portrayal of overwhelming, gut-wrenching grief could easily leave its characters cynical about love, yet it has the opposite effect, making their desire for connection feel even more urgent and profound.

McKendrick has said there is no true romantic love without first experiencing love through family, and that if someone has experienced real love through family, they do not settle when searching for it in romance, because they know what it feels like. She has credited this understanding to her bond with her sister, noting she has known what true love was since she was four years old when her sister first came home.

McKendrick has also described the film’s central idea as a belief that what makes us most special is that which cannot be seen, and that we all contain an invisible mix of heart, humor, and whimsy that defines who we really are. In that sense, the voicemail format is not just a plot device. It is the whole thesis.

The film follows Jill as an aspiring pastry chef navigating life in San Francisco following the death of her younger sister, and McKendrick has crafted a story where grief and romance are not opposites but two expressions of the same desperate human need to be heard. For viewers who have ever left a voicemail they were not sure would ever be heard, that is going to land somewhere deep.

If ‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ has left you thinking about the sibling or friend you always call when things fall apart, drop a message in the comments and share who you would leave a long, unfiltered voicemail for if you got the chance.