If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You, Mary Bronstein’s riveting story about parenting, is told with the emotional intensity and visual rigor of Uncut Gems, which is not surprising given that Josh Safdie serves as one of the film’s producers.
The director’s husband, Ronald Bronstein, who’s also credited as producer here,is a frequent collaborator of the Safdie brothers, best known as co-writer and co-editor on their films Good Time in 2017 and Uncut Gems in 2019.
If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You represents writer-director Mary Bronstein’s first feature in 17 years. She had made her feature debut, Yeast, which premiered at the 2008 South By Southwest Fest.
Deeply unsettling, the movie is empowered by a strong lead performance from Rose Byrne and an unsparing tone of dread.
Byrne stars as Linda, a woman whose husband (Christian Slater) is absent for months on a work trip.
Linda’s daughter, whose face is never seen, is plagued by an unspecified health condition that requires her to use a feeding tube.
Shot largely in close-up, the film builds a sense of calamity through a series of small crises as Linda navigates the responsibility of motherhood and the frustrating feeling that she’s fundamentally not cut out for it.
Byrne, who has done good work before, renders her most fully realized performance to date in a demandig role, which is not always sympathetic.
Conan O’Brien also impresses as her unsympathetic therapist.
Cast
Conan O’Brien as Linda’s therapist
Danielle Macdonald as Caroline, a mother who abandons her newborn baby
Lark White as Vanessa
Ivy Wolk as Diana, a motel clerk
Daniel Zolghadri as Stephen
Delaney Quinn as Linda’s terminally ill daughter
ASAP Rocky as James, motel superintendent
Josh Pais as Brad
Eva Kornet as herself
Mark Stolzenberg as a clinic parking attendant
Ronald Bronstein as Caroline’s husband
Helen Hong as Eva
Ella Beatty as Kate
Manu Narayan as Landlord
Amy Judd Lieberman as Melanie
Christian Slater as the voice of Linda’s absent husband
