The new psychological drama “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is out, and like any good psychological drama, it is uncomfortable and intense at times. Starring Rose Byrne in the best performance of her career, she plays Linda, a therapist who is juggling her job, taking care of her sick daughter and the absence of her husband, all while slowly slipping into madness with her own personal issues. Byrne’s execution of the character is staggering and heart-wrenching.
“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (2025) Review | Rose Byrne’s Descent Into Madness
Rose Byrne Turns in the Performance of Her Career
This feels like a slower, yet mentally intense and draining story about how hard it can be to deal with life. Byrne truly lives through it with everything that is crashing down throughout the movie. It seems as though it never ends, her character never catches a break. But her choices of how she decides to deal with it all certainly make you feel differently about her. You feel sorry for her, noticing the pain in her eyes for nearly the entire 113 minutes. But as the film progresses with Byrne’s spiral into madness, your feelings for her, or at least mine, changed and to me, being able to make an audience change the way they feel about a character like this on a dime is impressive.
There aren’t a lot of negative things I can say about Rose Byrne in this. My only complaint is that I ended up hating her character by the end of the film. So much that I woke up the morning after watching still angry at her. That’s a testament to Byrne’s performance. It is without question her best performance to date, and why she’s nominated for “Best Actress” at this year’s Golden Globes. I’d most definitely lock her in for the same nomination at this year’s Oscars.
Hyper-Focused Filming & Surprisingly Great Supporting Roles
“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” hyper-focuses on Byrne throughout, meaning even in scenes when she’s not talking, the camera stays with her. I found it incredibly interesting that they did this, but I completely understand why. You truly get the entire perspective of her character. It’s not something I’ve seen too often in films, but I really liked it.
Two supporting cast members who delightfully blew my expectations out of the water were Conan O’Brien and A$ASP Rocky. Both pulling out acting chops I didn’t know they had in serious dramatic roles. Rocky is charming, adding a small amount of humor to the film, and he’s great at it. O’Brien plays Linda’s therapist, who is cold-blooded, chaotic and does his best to keep up with Byrne in their scenes. Both of them impressed me a lot.
How Does It Truly End?
Fast forward to the ending that has me thinking and trying to determine what came of this film. It’s an ending that seems deeper, with a hidden meaning that asks you to figure out what actually happened. I really like that because it’s all about your perspective. What I think happened is most definitely not going to match what other audience members think happened. It’s not a cut-and-dry answer and it makes viewers think.
“If I had Legs I’d Kick You” won’t be for everyone; it tackles some pretty serious issues, both physically and mentally. It’ll make some uncomfortable, but that’s the point. You can’t feel and imagine what Rose Byrne’s character is going through if the film doesn’t make you.
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