Written and directed by Alexander Ronsdorf, ‘Give Yourself A Try’ is a short drama about the uneasy space between growing up and growing apart. It opens with two young women venting separately on the phone, each unloading frustration about the other to people. The friendship has stalled. It has been six weeks since Tess and Mia last spoke, and neither of them has made a move. When they bump into each other by chance in a laundromat, the tension is immediate and unspoken.
Mika Altskan’s cinematography captures the sterility and awkwardness of the space without leaning into stylization. It feels raw, allowing the performances to take focus. MiMi Ryder plays Tess with a volatile mix of pain and defiance, while Nyah Juliano’s Mia is more composed, quietly hoping to mend what has been damaged. There is no screaming match, no grand emotional release. Instead, there is restraint, resentment, and a struggle to hold onto something that might already be gone.
Mia is leaving for university in another state, and Tess is clearly not ready to accept what that means. The film explores this shift with nuance, refusing to pick sides or offer comfort. Ronsdorf’s writing captures how easily deep friendships can curdle when fear, pride, and distance creep in. The dialogue feels natural without being casual, and the pacing allows moments to land without dragging the film into sentimentality.
This is not a story about fixing what’s broken or returning to how things were. It is a story of acceptance – of realizing that change is inevitable and that not all closeness survives growing up. ‘Give Yourself A Try’ captures that shift with honesty, offering a deeply relatable reflection on the moment you stop trying to hold on and start learning to let go. Highly recommended.
