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.
Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance (Rose Byrne), Berlinale 2025
Rose Byrne, Conan O’Brien, A$AP Rocky, Danielle Macdonald
USA
2025
English
At International Village
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Mary Bronstein, Rose Byrne
Producer
Sara Murphy, Ryan Zacarias, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Conor Hannon, Richie Doyle
Screenwriter
Mary Bronstein
Cinematography
Christopher Messina
Editor
Lucian Johnston
Production Design
Carmen Navis
Mary Bronstein
Mary Bronstein is a writer-director based in New York City who is known for her raw style, auteurist approach, and focus on stories about complicated women. Her best-known work is the cult-classic Yeast (2008), and Mary recently completed her second feature, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, with A24. In addition to her film work, she’s written original feminist theory for several academic publishers.
Filmography: Yeast (2008)
Photo by Issey Goold
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Frankenstein
Frankenstein and Guillermo del Toro might have been made for each other. The movie does not disappoint, a ripping yarn of grand adventure, spectacle, hubris, passion and XXL body parts, a tale of the fantastic that rings the imagination. Screening in 35mm.
Predators
"Punk'd for pedophiles." That's what Jimmy Kimmel called Chris Hansen's true crime/reality TV show, To Catch a Predator (2004-07). Two decades on, David Osit examines why the show made such an impact, for good or ill, and sits down with Hansen himself.
Fréwaka
A Dublin nurse is sent to a remote Irish village to care for a reclusive woman. Haunted by a dark past, her night terrors invade her reality. Aislinn Clarke delivers a chilling, feminist folk horror that favours atmosphere over jump scares.
