Exploring themes rooted in her own personal life, director Mary Bronstein’s psychological drama/comedy, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, depicts the existential turmoil of maintaining the responsibilities of motherhood with one’s individual identity. Premiering at Sundance Film Festival in 2025, Bronstein’s feature is a difficult and anxiety-inducing watch, but one not without its merits. Linda (played by Rose Byrne) is caring for her sick daughter while her husband is away on business. Having to juggle doctor’s appointments, her therapy work as well as her own sessions with her therapist (a fun casting choice with Conan O’Brien), Linda is barely keeping it together. Living out of a hotel room after her apartment ceiling has collapsed, the to-do list only accumulates no matter how hard Linda tries. Gripping in its execution regarding mental health, Bronstein’s film occasionally becomes a bit circuitous and repetitive, yet perhaps much of that is the point in regards to Linda’s life; craving a respite from her caregiving duties yet not having the means or the freedom to do so.
For the majority of the film, Linda’s daughter and husband are hidden from view, only conversing over argumentative phone calls or laying in bed hooked up to a nocturnal beeping monitor. Close up camera views of Linda’s anxious face are pervasive, leading to an overwhelming sense of continued dread. With characters left unnamed and her family left out of the picture, Linda’s existential isolation is near palpable. She’s often left impatient with her clients and her own therapist, of whom she frequently blows up at about him not understanding what she’s truly going through. The only social connection she seems to get is from James, one of the hotel workers (played by A$AP Rocky) who pries into her wine drinking habit and invites her to partake in some fun (illegal) drug use, though even his approaches are tainted with a degree of boisterous insistence.
As a means of temporary escape, Linda occasionally stops by her family’s apartment in the middle of the night, staring the jarring black hole in their ceiling right between its metaphysical eyes. Glimpses of galaxies and surreal out of body visions take place, having the audience question as to whether this is the alcohol talking or if there’s some kind of transcendent moment taking place within Linda. Juxtaposing comedic timing with constant agitation is a fine dance to strike, with the humorous tone of the film occasionally falling short. Yet Byrne comes out of her shell as a nuanced and layered character, breaking the mold of what motherhood should look like. While not all of Bronstein’s choices quite land, an appreciation for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is deserved for breaking the boundaries of confined expectations.
