‘Voicemails for Isabelle’ director Leah McKendrick on those Taylor Swift needle drops

Voicemails for Isabelle, which became the #1 movie on Netflix the first weekend it was released, has a musical pedigree. The score was co-composed by Este Haim of the group HAIM, and it features several big pop music needle drops, including Taylor Swift’s “Marjorie,” from Evermore, and “New Year’s Day,” from Reputation.

Director Leah McKendrick, who identifies as a “hardcore Swiftie,” told ABC Audio that she was thrilled to be able to use the songs in the film. “I love Taylor. She’s the poet of our time. She’s the Shakespeare of our times, the voice of our generation,” she said.

“I think we can all really connect with this wistful little girl that became a woman, who has experienced the full spectrum of love and heartbreak and articulates it so gorgeously in a way that is accessible and, simultaneously poetry,” she continued, adding, “She amazes me. … I want Taylor Swift’s songs in all my movies.”

“Marjorie” is used to soundtrack a pivotal moment in the film when Jill, played by Zoey Deutch, is grieving for her younger sister Isabelle, who passed away. “New Year’s Day” is heard when Jill’s love interest Wes, played by Nick Robinson, is missing her. 

“In my mind, we have this girl who’s yearning, longing, grieving, and we have the perfect song: ‘Marjorie’ just feels so right,” said McKendrick. “But by the end, he’s the one longing, yearning, grieving — listening to Taylor Swift.”

At first, McKendrick wasn’t sure if the production would be able to afford not two Taylor Swift songs. But, she said, “Netflix really understood … [that] [m]y music is my everything. It’s part of my process. It’s a part of what I want to deliver to my audience. It will always be banger after banger in all of my movies. I own that.”