Linda has a bad day, a bad week, maybe even a bad life that flashes in front of her eyes.
In Mary Bronstein’s nonstop Aria of controlled chaos, “If I had legs I would kick you“Linda is a Montauk psychotherapist in free fall while she just tries to take care of her sick daughter, patch up the hole in her roof that shoots water and picks down on the sofa in time with her own therapist. She is played Rose Byrne In no doubt the best performance in actress Stellar Stellar.
But if you were a “injury” fans, you already know the dramatic pyrotechnics “Spy” and “bridesmaids” -Scene stealer can, and with Linda the Byrne releases a whirl of oh-god-help-me (but please, please, please not help me) anxiety.
A24 Releases Bronstein’s second feature behind the camera, which first premiered at 2025 Sundance Film Festival before Byrne predictable (and deserved!) Won Silver Bear for best actress at the Berlin Film Festival, where “If I had Ben I would kick you” made his next stop in the competition. The film arrives at the theater on October 10, and the first trailer, which you can watch below, is here to give you a taste of Byrne’s unforgettable tour.
Linda’s relationship with her own therapist (Conan O’Brien) – whose office is right in the corridor, think of you – is a full one. At the same time, her daughter has a mystery disease and a pipe that pumps food in her stomach, a wrap is anxious to be extracted, even if a healthcare professional (played by Bronstein herself) advises her not to. Linda’s husband (played by an actor whose como I will not destroy) is Mia, and so while the sudden hole in her apartment roof parties, she is forced to live in a motel powered by some acidic types and also inhabited by a curious, potentially helpful neighbor played by a $ AP Rocky. At the same time, Linda buzzes cheap wine and smoke joints, just trying to make it through another day.
Indieviews David Ehrlich went about this brilliant movie out of Sundance with an A-class review. “The spirals towards the bottom of Linda’s soul with a terminal speed that feels as undeniable and uncompromising as the laws of physics. They always say to put your own oxygen mask first, but what if you are the emergency situation?” He wrote.
In fact, Linda sprouts out of control, but we are with her circles the drain, as Bronstein lively realizes the ultimate boss horror film of motherhood. The film counts Josh Safdie among its producers, and comparisons with “uncut gems” earned, but “If I had legs I would kick you” is an emotional and sensory torpedo, no references can help you see coming.
The film will play the next TIFF and New York Film Festival, even though we collect it will be at Telluride to help awaken Momentum for Byrnes affordable performance. The academy would make an incredible mistake not to honor her work here.
Look at the trailer for “If I had legs I would kick you” below. The film opens in a limited edition on Friday 10 October.
