Shadows on the Wall | If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

dir-scr Mary Bronstein
prd Sara Murphy, Ryan Zacarias, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush
with Rose Byrne, Conan O'Brien, A$ap Rocky, Danielle Macdonald, Christian Slater, Delaney Quinn, Lark White, Ivy Wolk, Daniel Zolghadri, Mary Bronstein, Ella Beatty, Josh Pais
release US 10.Oct.25,
UK 20.Feb.26
25/US A24 1h53

SUNDANCE FILM FEST
BERLIN FILM FEST
TORONTO FILM FEST

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Quirky and unhinged, this blackly comical horror delves into the mind of a mother whose everyday reality begins to feel overwhelming. Writer-director Mary Bronstein pushes this woman (and the audience) to the brink and beyond, with close-up photography that echoes her claustrophobic mindset. And Rose Byrne delivers a tour de force performance that radiates intelligence, strength and determination, even as she reaches the end of her rope.

After her home floods, focussed-but-frazzled Linda (Byrne) moves into a hotel with her demanding and chronically ill daughter (Quinn), while her husband (Slater) is away on business. As a psychotherapist, Linda finds herself turning to a short-tempered colleague (O'Brien) for a listening ear. And she finds it increasingly tricky to concentrate on her own patients, who are dealing with paralysing fears and misplaced desires. Indeed, Linda is being pushed from every side, and the only person who seems able to help is sketchy hotel employee Jamie (Rocky). She certainly can't hold everything together much longer.

Cameras remain closely on Linda, only occasionally revealing the people around her. It's painful to watch her frustration grow when her husband insists he can do whatever he wants in his time off, because she hasn't had a moment of her own in recent memory. So several situations begin to feel like terrifying dreams, leading to some surreal visions that seem to be breaking through the limits of space and time. The psychology of this is astounding, tapping into deeply buried guilt and uncertainty.

Byrne delivers a staggeringly honest performance, offering riveting insight into this woman's wobbly state of mind. Linda may be strong and fiercely intelligent, but juggling everything on her own is taking a toll on her mental and physical wellbeing. There are heart-stopping moments when we can see her sanity slipping. While her daughter remains off camera, there are vivid supporting roles for O'Brien, Rocky, Macdonald and Slater, each of whom gets their own strong moments.

This complex film deftly taps into the mind-boggling responsibilities women are simply expected to bear while men prioritise their own needs, including pouring themselves into their jobs. Aside from Jamie, the men around Linda casually avoid offering assistance. And other women don't help either, using wordplay to defend the burdens they have accepted that they must carry. Scenes escalate in intensity, making the film sometimes very harrowing, but the nuanced truth that underscores all of this is powerfully involving.

themes, language, violence 5.Dec.25

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