Netflix's Voicemails For Isabelle Director Shut Down Production To Make Sure A Small Detail Was Correct [Exclusive]

Netflix releases tons of original movies every year, but how many of them do you actually remember? Thankfully, one of the films we spotlighted on our most anticipated list a couple of months ago has finally come out, and it's one I'll be thinking about for a while. It's a romantic comedy called "Voicemails for Isabelle," and it follows an aspiring chef named Jill (Zoey Deutch) who, devastated after the death of her younger sister Isabelle (Ciara Bravo), leaves voicemails on Isabelle's phone as a way to continue talking to her. When a handsome real estate agent (Nick Robinson) suddenly takes control of Isabelle's number, he hears these secret messages, falls for Jill, and sets out to track her down.

I had the chance to speak with writer/director Leah McKendrick, who also directed the excellent 2023 movie "Scrambled," and while you'll be able to hear our full conversation on the June 24 episode of our /Film Weekly podcast, she told me a story that I thought was worth highlighting here because it showcases how much she cared about making this movie the right way:

"I shut down production because I needed the type kind of lettuce on the plate when [Jill] serves the crab cakes. And I'm not even a chef, but I was like, 'She's a chef, and that don't look right to me!' [...] Am I really going to hold production for them to go get the specific type of lettuce? But then I thought to myself, 'That's why I'm here, man. That's why I'm here. I believe in the small details. The devil's in the details.' And [production designer Celine Diano] and her team made all my dreams come true. It was a painstaking process, but I love all of my sets. I love everything that they did."

McKendrick's attention to detail paid off. "Voicemails for Isabelle" is a terrific movie — it's charming, emotional, funny, sweet, and actually filmed on location for large chunks of it (in the gorgeous locale of San Francisco, in this case, making the city look fantastic), which is pretty much anything you can ask for in a good romantic comedy. Every beat works as intended, and because the script and direction are so strong — and because the filmmaker clearly cares enough about getting the little things right to shut down her own production — this actually feels like a real movie instead of just forgettable Netflix nonsense designed to distract you for two hours.

When this script made The Black List back in 2019, the Jill character was a low-level TV writer, but changing her into an aspiring chef was an inspired choice that gives the movie more identity and specificity. Plus, that decision helps undergird the relationship between the film's two sisters, which is crucial for this story to work as well as it does.

I can't help but think that a movie like this could do wonders for the modern romcom if it were given a big theatrical release, but here's hoping that enough people will see it on Netflix that it'll give the genre (and Leah McKendrick's career) a boost anyway.

"Voicemails for Isabelle" is currently streaming on Netflix.