With her life crashing down around her, Linda (Rose Byrne) attempts to navigate her child's mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist (Conan O'Brien).
Sharply funny and deeply resonant, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You is an electrifying drama from filmmaker Mary Bronstein, anchored by a mesmerising performance from (now Oscar nominated) Rose Byrne.
The Garden Cinema View:
A breathlessly intense film, the pressure cooker atmosphere of If I Had Legs I’d Kick you is relieved by frequent blasts of hilarity, and is carried on the back of a captivating performance by Rose Byrne as a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Director Rachel Bronstein keeps Byrne almost always in shot, with very tight framing keeping the viewer, claustrophobically, trapped within her headspace.
This is high-stress cinema, with Linda (Byrne) juggling a sick child, a collapsing apartment, missing patients, and a severe lack of sleep. At times the film even drifts into a kind of cosmic horror sphere, as the cracks in Linda’s mind (and her ceiling) threaten to collapse. It’s thrilling filmmaking, but not without compassion for its flawed and relatable protagonist.
