If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

A missing patient. A demonic hamster. A cosmic hole in the bedroom ceiling. For Linda (Rose Byrne), life is a series of surreal catastrophes pointing to her failure as a working mother, and even her therapist (Conan O’Brien) is getting sick of her. Displaced in a purgatorial motel while her husband (Christian Slater) is away on business, Linda turns to weed, white wine, and holotropic breathing to cope with the bottomless void of need that is her daughter’s mysterious illness.

Shot on 35mm film, this darkly humorous psychological drama from writer-director-actor Mary Bronstein (Yeast) immerses us in Linda’s unraveling mental state as her heightened world collapses on itself. Drenched in anxiety and desperate fury, Rose Byrne’s top-notch performance is complemented by impeccable comedic timing from editor Lucian Johnston (Midsommar). Through extreme close-ups, a nerve-wracking soundscape, eerie ambient lighting, and visceral practical effects, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You reflects the frantic perspective of a mother at the end of her rope.

The most electric film of the year […] a lead performance that feels singular, towering, even generational.

Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail

A howl of maternal desperation spiked with jagged humor.

Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

It’s a towering performance, a feat of intelligence and energy that tightly binds to all of Bronstein’s heady, propulsive style.

Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair