--- title: "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you" critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 22 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025): what the critics said Critics' score 75 from 22 reviews: 13 positive, 9 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond positively to this punishing portrait of maternal distress, with Rose Byrne’s performance drawing the clearest agreement. The reviews repeatedly praise her ability to convey exhaustion, anger and grim humour without softening Linda’s difficult behaviour. Praise also centres on the claustrophobic close-ups, oppressive sound and surreal atmosphere, which make her anxiety hard to escape. For the most enthusiastic critics, the film’s black comedy makes its depiction of parental strain both unsettling and painfully funny. The reservations concern how long that pressure can remain productive. Several critics find the sustained anxiety exhausting, even while admiring its impact, and responses range from enthusiastic praise to mixed assessments, with none categorised as negative. /Film finds that the surreal passages do not always fit smoothly with the rest; Vulture considers the film compelling but unfinished and uncertain where to go next. Byrne remains widely admired across that divide. ## Time Out — Stephen A Russell Rating 5/5. 20 February 2025. The review praises the film as an intense, blackly funny rollercoaster of motherhood. It singles out Rose Byrne’s performance as a tour de force of matriarchal fury. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-2025) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating A. 6 October 2025. Festival review. Ehrlich calls the film a harrowing, frequently hilarious portrait of maternal distress, praising its uncompromising surreal intensity. He particularly singles out Rose Byrne’s caustic, fully committed performance and the film’s claustrophobic expressionism. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-rose-byrne-1235088103/) ## The AV Club — Brianna Zigler Rating A-. 2 October 2025. Zigler calls the film a stunning, brutal portrait of a mother’s exhaustion and resistance to help. She singles out Rose Byrne’s performance for conveying both pain and selfish ambivalence. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review) ## Slant Magazine — Marshall Shaffer Rating 3.5/4. 3 February 2025. Festival review. Shaffer finds the film a precisely controlled, anxiety-inducing tonal rollercoaster, with only its ambiguous, Lynchian ceiling sequences falling short. He especially praises Rose Byrne’s elastic, go-for-broke performance, which anchors the film’s relentless depiction of burnout. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-rose-byrne-mary-bronstein/) ## Empire — Miriam Balanescu Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 16 February 2026. Balanescu finds the pressure-cooker film perversely enjoyable and thought-provoking, despite its lack of subtlety. She singles out Rose Byrne’s fearless, grimly funny performance for anchoring the spiralling story. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you/) ## Sight and Sound — BFI Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 3 February 2025. Festival review. The critic finds the film piercingly funny and acutely observant, with Rose Byrne deftly conveying Linda’s mounting emotional strain. They especially praise Bronstein’s decision to keep the daughter offscreen, which draws attention to Linda’s state of mind. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-mary-bronstein-pushes-lifes-daily-irritations-limit-this-dark-maternal-drama) ## The i Paper — Francesca Steele Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2026. Steele argues that the film is an important, unsparing portrayal of motherhood under pressure, even though its protagonist is painfully unlikeable. She praises its refusal of a comic or redemptive softening, reinforced by claustrophobic body-horror-style close-ups. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/if-had-legs-kick-motherhood-ugly-barely-watch-4202861) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2025. Debruge finds the film exhilarating but sometimes maddening, calling it an intense portrait of a maternal breakdown. He singles out Rose Byrne’s raw, feverish performance as its central achievement. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-rose-byrne-1236285403/) ## Screen Daily — Tim Grierson, Senior US critic Fi1m's normalised score 67/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2025. Festival review. The standfirst frames the film as an intense, high-stakes ride. It singles out Rose Byrne’s portrayal of a mother on the brink. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-sundance-review/5200837.article) ## Los Angeles Times — Glenn Whipp Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 9 October 2025. Whipp finds the film an exhausting, claustrophobic endurance test, but ultimately admires its impact. He singles out Rose Byrne’s vivid, magnificent performance as the force that makes Linda’s crisis linger. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-10-09/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-rose-byrne-mary-bronstein-conan-obrien-asap-rocky) ## The Guardian — Benjamin Lee Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 2025. Festival review. Lee finds the film an exhausting, often unpleasant experience that does not always work, but says its anxious portrait of motherhood keeps the viewer invested. He singles out Rose Byrne’s sensational, emotionally controlled performance as the film’s standout achievement. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/24/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-rose-byrne) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2025. Festival review. Rooney finds the film transfixing and imaginative, though its sustained anxiety can become exhausting. He singles out Rose Byrne’s riveting, compassionate performance as its central strength. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-rose-byrne-1236117297/) ## Vulture — Alison Willmore Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 10 October 2025. Willmore finds the film confrontational and compelling, though it feels unfinished and unsure where to go next. She especially praises Rose Byrne’s fearless, funny performance and the suffocating camera work that immerses viewers in Linda’s anxiety. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-is-an-outraged-howl.html) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 63/100 (inferred from the text). The page could not be accessed, so its verdict is unavailable. No praised or criticized element could be verified. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/movies/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review.html) ## Little White Lies — Lucy Peters Rating 5/3/5. 19 February 2026. Peters considers the film an essential, cathartic work that leaves a lasting impression. She particularly praises Rose Byrne’s tightly wound performance and the claustrophobic soundscape that heightens it. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 2025. Festival review. The critic calls the film an emotional knockout, finding its relentless, disorienting depiction of motherhood both funny and unsettling. Rose Byrne’s fragile, commanding performance is singled out as the film’s central achievement. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-rose-byrne-a24/) ## Paste — Natalia Keogan Rating 8.6. 28 January 2025. Festival review. Keogan finds the film an intelligent, moody, and unsettling portrait of maternal anxiety. She particularly praises Rose Byrne’s performance and the film’s uncanny, Eraserhead-like atmosphere. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/mary-bronstein/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-sundance-movie-mary-bronstein-rose-byrne-conan-obrien) ## /Film — Bill Bria Rating 8/10. 27 January 2025. Festival review. Bria praises the film as an absorbing, anxiety-soaked portrait of parental strain, though its surreal moments do not always blend smoothly with the rest. He singles out Rose Byrne’s high-wire performance and the film’s absurdist treatment of everyday pressures. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1772474/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-movie-review/) ## The Skinny — Carmen Paddock Rating 4/5. 16 February 2026. The critic finds the film compelling but often repellent, with only its trauma reveal and ending falling short. They praise Rose Byrne’s harrowing performance and the filmmaking that builds the film’s sensory hellscape. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you) ## Eye for Film — Jeremy Mathews Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 February 2025. Mathews finds the film an anxiety-laden but worthwhile ride, made continuously compelling despite its difficult subject matter. He singles out Rose Byrne’s performance for anchoring the film without letting her character’s unraveling become unconvincing. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-2025-film-review-by-jeremy-mathews) ## Deadline — Glenn Garner Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2025. Festival review. Garner finds the film an intense, effective portrait of motherhood that leaves viewers wanting to check on their mothers. He praises its closeups and carefully composed shots for conveying Linda’s deteriorating mental state. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2025/01/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-rose-byrnes-mary-bronstein-sundance-1236260460/) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 62/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2025. Festival review. The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. Its praise or complaint cannot be identified from the available text. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you-review-rose-byrne-is-a-mother-on-the-verge-sundance-20250124/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/if-i-had-legs-id-kick-you.md