If I Had Legs I'd Kick You is a 2025 American black comedy psychological drama film written and directed by Mary Bronstein. It stars Rose Byrne as a mother who, after facing numerous obstacles, spirals into a mental breakdown. The supporting cast includes Conan O'Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Christian Slater, and ASAP Rocky.
The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and was released domestically by A24 on October 10. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You was received favorably by critics. Byrne's performance received universal acclaim, earning her the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance, an Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance and a Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for the Critics' Choice Award, Actor Award, BAFTA Award and Academy Award for Best Actress.
Plot
Linda is a psychotherapist caring for her clingy, anxious daughter, who has a pediatric feeding disorder that necessitates nightly use of a feeding tube. Linda also drives her daughter to and from a day hospital program daily. Linda's ship captain husband, Charles, is away from home for long periods.
The family's Montauk apartment is flooded after the ceiling collapses. Linda and her daughter move to a shabby motel run by an insolent clerk, Diana, and superintendent, Jamie. Linda struggles to sleep due to the noise from her daughter's feeding pump. She spends sleep-deprived nights outside the motel room, drinking wine, smoking cannabis, listening to music, and eating junk food. Repairs to the apartment have been left in limbo by the contractor's sudden departure.
Linda finds her clients demanding, including Caroline, a new mother suffering from paranoia and postpartum anxiety. Linda seeks therapy from a colleague, who is increasingly exasperated by her lack of professional boundaries. When Charles calls to check in on Linda, he is critical and unsupportive, saying he wishes he could "sit around all day" as a therapist. Her daughter's hospital program doctor reprimands Linda for frequently missing family therapy sessions and tells her her daughter must meet her weight goal or her level of care will be reassessed. Linda feels she's being set up to fail and that her daughter will not eat more as long as she is using the feeding tube.
Caroline abandons her son in Linda's office during a session, and when Caroline's husband refuses to pick up the child, she calls the police. Jamie offers to help Linda buy drugs on the dark web and offers her daughter emotional support. When he comes to the apartment to look at the collapsed ceiling he falls through the damaged floor and breaks his leg. Linda flees the scene after calling an ambulance.
Linda causes a scene at the hospital when she is told her daughter cannot reach the necessary weight for removing her feeding tube and feels the doctor blames her. She tells her therapist she aborted her first pregnancy years before having her daughter, and cries about her failings as a mother. He tells her he can no longer be her therapist. Caroline comes to the motel looking for Linda's help with a mental health crisis. When Linda suggests a hospital emergency room, Caroline slaps her and runs away.
Linda removes her daughter's feeding tube and has a hallucination of the surgical hole closing. Returning to her apartment, she discovers Charles has unexpectedly returned and had the hole in the ceiling repaired. They return to the motel room to find Jamie responded to the panicking daughter. Charles sees the missing feeding tube and Linda flees to the beach, running into the surf and repeatedly being thrown back ashore.
Linda wakes on the sand beside her daughter, the child's face visible for the first time in the film. She promises she will "be better" and her daughter smiles.
Cast
Production
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You began filming in August and September 2023 in Montauk, New York, after SAG-AFTRA granted an interim agreement for the film during the actors' strike. The film was shot over 27 days, with Bronstein giving up her director's fee to obtain two additional shooting days. Due to the film's limited budget, Bronstein and the director of photography recorded its surrealist elements during post-production.
The film was Bronstein's first movie since her 2008 debut, Yeast. She said she wrote the film as a means of processing the trauma she experienced while caring for her 7-year-old daughter, who was suffering from severe health problems at the time.
Release
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2025. It had its international premiere in February 2025 at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in competition for the Golden Bear. Byrne won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance. It screened at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival, the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, the 2025 New York Film Festival, and the 2025 BFI London Film Festival. It was released by A24 on October 10, 2025.
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You also screened in the Best of 2025 section of the 20th Rome Film Festival in October 2025.
The first physical releases on Blu-ray and DVD were in Canada on December 23, 2025.
Reception Critical reception Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Critics praised Byrne's performance, with Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times and Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Times calling it "magnificent". David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote, "[Byrne] is particularly on-point here, the sort of exquisitely raw, white-knuckle performance that feels so voyeuristic and personal that, if you had any decency, you'd look away. She ensures that you can't".
Many writers compared the film favorably to Uncut Gems. Stephanie Zacharek of Time called it "Uncut Gems for moms". Zacharek and Whipp noted that Bronstein's husband, Ronald Bronstein, is a frequent collaborator with the Safdie brothers and that Josh Safdie is one of the film's producers. Ronald Bronstein also appears in a voice-only cameo.
Accolades AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipientResult Academy Awards March 15, 2026Best ActressRose Byrne Actor Awards March 1, 2026 Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Astra Film Awards January 9, 2026 Best Actress – Comedy or Musical Atlanta Film Critics CircleDecember 3, 2025Best Lead ActressAustin Film Critics AssociationDecember 18, 2025Best Actress BAFTA Awards February 22, 2026 Best Actress in a Leading Role Berlin International Film FestivalFebruary 23, 2025Golden BearIf I Had Legs I'd Kick YouSilver Bear for Best Leading PerformanceRose ByrneChicago Film Critics AssociationDecember 11, 2025Best ActressMilos Stehlik Breakthrough Filmmaker AwardMary BronsteinCritics' Choice Awards January 4, 2026 Best Actress Rose Byrne Film Independent Spirit Awards February 15, 2026 Best Director Mary Bronstein Best Lead Performance Rose Byrne Georgia Film Critics Association AwardsDecember 27, 2025 Best Original Screenplay Mary Bronstein Best Actress Rose Byrne Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 11, 2026Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Gotham Independent Film Awards December 1, 2025 Best Feature Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Richie Doyle, Conor Hannon, Sara Murphy, Josh Safdie, and Ryan Zacarias Best Director Mary Bronstein Best Original Screenplay Outstanding Lead Performance Rose Byrne Indiana Film Journalists AssociationDecember 15, 2025Best Lead PerformanceBest Original ScreenplayMary BronsteinOriginal VisionIf I Had Legs I'd Kick You Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards December 7, 2025 Best Lead PerformanceRose Byrne Michigan Movie Critics GuildDecember 8, 2025Best ActressMiddleburg Film FestivalOctober 19, 2025Agnès Varda Trailblazing Film Artist AwardMill Valley Film FestivalOctober 10, 2025Mind the Gap AwardNational Board of ReviewJanuary 13, 2026Best ActressTop Ten Independent FilmsIf I Had Legs I'd Kick You National Society of Film Critics January 3, 2026 Best Actress Rose Byrne New York Film Critics Circle January 6, 2026 Best ActressRose Byrne New York Film Critics OnlineDecember 15, 2025Best PictureIf I Had Legs I'd Kick YouBest ScreenplayMary BronsteinBest ActressRose ByrnePhoenix Critics CircleDecember 11, 2025Best ActressSan Diego Film Critics SocietyDecember 15, 2025Best ActressSan Francisco Film CriticsDecember 14, 2025Best ActressSavannah Film FestivalOctober 27, 2025Luminary AwardSeattle Film Critics SocietyDecember 15, 2025Best Actress in a Leading RoleSitges Film FestivalOctober 18, 2025Best Feature FilmIf I Had Legs I'd Kick You Best Female PerformanceRose Byrne St. Louis Film Critics Association AwardsDecember 14, 2025Best Actress Stockholm International Film Festival November 14, 2025 Golden Horse If I Had Legs I'd Kick You Toronto Film Critics AssociationMarch 2, 2026Outstanding Lead PerformanceRose ByrneWashington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationDecember 7, 2025Best Actress Writers Guild of America Awards March 8, 2026 Best Original Screenplay Mary Bronstein
References
External links