If I Had Legs I’d Kick You @Sundance 2025

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is a darkly comedic yet deeply unsettling exploration of motherhood, mental strain, and the absurdity of everyday life that premiered at Sundance. Written and directed by Mary Bronstein in her second feature film, the story follows Linda, a woman whose world is unravelling at an alarming pace. With her child suffering from an enigmatic illness, her husband absent, and her home turned into an unlivable construction site, Linda faces an escalating storm of responsibilities that she must handle alone.

To make matters worse, a missing person case looms over her, and her relationship with her therapist, played by Conan O’Brien, grows increasingly hostile and unproductive. As the pressures mount, Linda’s grip on reality begins to fray, pushing the audience into an anxiety-fueled odyssey of a woman drowning in obligations with no clear escape in sight.

At the heart of the film is Rose Byrne’s mesmerizing performance as Linda, a mother teetering on the edge of exhaustion and delirium. Byrne brings raw emotional depth to the role, oscillating between frenetic energy and numbed detachment as she attempts to juggle the never-ending demands of her collapsing world. Her interactions with supporting characters, including O’Brien as her dismissive therapist and A$AP Rocky as an enigmatic motel neighbour, inject moments of bizarre, uncomfortable humour into the film. The humour, however, is far from a relief—it is dark, surreal, and a reflection of Linda’s deteriorating state of mind.

Bronstein crafts a relentless atmosphere of claustrophobia, where even the most mundane aspects of life, such as finding a parking space or scheduling a doctor’s appointment, feel like insurmountable obstacles. The result is a film that doesn’t just depict stress but immerses the audience in it, creating a visceral experience that is as unsettling as it is darkly hilarious. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You cements Bronstein as a daring filmmaker, unafraid to blur the lines between comedy and psychological despair in a way that leaves audiences both rattled and riveted. FERNTV says don’t miss this one if you have a chance.