Lily Rader’s poignant short film Babes captures that exact emotional bruise in its stunning centerpiece scene, “Can I Make It Up to You.”
Then, Rader delivers the line that gives the short its emotional core: babes - lily rader - can i make it up to you
Rader has said in interviews that the scene was improvised after eight takes of the written dialogue. “The written version had her apologizing for specific things,” she noted in a 2023 Q&A. “But in the moment, I realized the specifics didn’t matter. What mattered was the desire to make it right, even when you know you probably can’t.” Lily Rader’s poignant short film Babes captures that
The scene is deceptively simple. Our protagonist (Rader) sits on the edge of a bathtub—a classic symbol of cleansing, of vulnerability. Across from her, the woman she’s hurt (played with devastating stillness by co-star Margo Schmidt) packs a small duffel bag. No yelling. No tears, at first. Just the zip of a zipper and the drip of a faucet. What mattered was the desire to make it
Babes isn’t a feel-good watch. It’s a feel-everything watch. And Lily Rader’s “Can I Make It Up to You” will stick in your ribs long after the credits roll.
On paper, it’s a cliché. It’s what you say when you break a borrowed sweater or forget an anniversary. But Rader’s delivery turns it into a prayer.