This story about parenting is told with the intensity of Uncut Gems, which is not surprising as Safdie serves as one of the producers.
This story about parenting is told with the intensity of Uncut Gems, which is not surprising as Safdie serves as one of the producers.
If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You represents writer-director Mary Bronstein’s first feature in 17 years.
Unsettling, the movie is powered by a strong lead performance from Rose Byrne and an unsparing tome of dread.
Rose Byrne stars as Linda, whose husband (Christian Slater) is absent for months on a work trip.
Her 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 struggles with the responsibility of motherhood and the feeling that she’s fundamentally not cut out for it.
Byrne has done good work before, but the true revelation is Conan O’Brien 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
