TIFF 2025: If I Had Legs I’d Kick You Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Above all else, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is designed to leave audiences uncomfortable and on edge throughout and for that, it succeeds in the most compelling of ways. This stress-induced surrealist fever dream is not afraid to go to some dark places, but these moments are where the film is at its most effective. Inflicting a seemingly insurmountable amount of pressure on audiences, it puts them on just the right mindset, experiencing the same pressure that mothers face in balancing their family and careers against an ever changing landscape that would make that duty more difficult with each passing day. In the face of a film that could be perceived as being all over the place, the glue that holds it together is a career-best performance from Rose Byrne, one that pushes her to her absolute limits in what was equal parts frustrating and heartbreaking to watch. Here, she plays Linda, a woman whose life is crashing down all around her, feeling pressure at every turn. The personification of being at the end of one’s rope, her persistence is all the more impressive considering many would react much differently if they were in the same position. However, Linda is not given that same freedom. A therapist saddled with the care of an ailing daughter (Delaney Quinn) essentially on her own, while having a contentious relationship with her own therapist and colleague (O’Brien).

As Linda’s growing desperation continued to push her to her edge, the stress of an insurmountable situation becoming increasingly so over time took her to some dark places. Feeling alone and overwhelmed, that stress basically took over, consuming her to the point that it became unhealthy. For Linda, when it rained, it poured, culminating with a nefarious hole in her ceiling that left her home severely water damaged. Banished to a motel while the hole was supposed to be repaired, this new setting marked a change in her. Befriending fellow motel guest James (Rocky), she wasn’t so alone though he was perhaps not the best influence. No longer accepting defeat, she would begin to fight back but little did she know, the potential consequences of her actions. Consumed by stress, Linda’s perspective may not always be accurate. Whether or not what was happening through her eyes was real, one can’t help but feel her anger and frustration at the hands of a world, in her eyes, systematically working against her. Ultimately, Linda maybe needed to go over that edge to regain her perspective.

The best part of If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is undeniably Byrne’s career-best performance as Linda. A role that pushes her to her absolute limit, she is more than game, committing to a character unlike what audiences are used to seeing from the actress. Byrne delivers a raw performance full of vulnerability as a woman pushed to her absolute limit. A total roller coaster of an arc, her likeability makes it easy to join her for that ride and her timing allows her to communicate her erratic emotional state in a compelling way. Meanwhile, O’Brien holds his own as Linda’s therapist, showing range with a restrained performance that balances out the tone of the film nicely. Rocky offers up a similarly complimentary performance as James, arguably the most ‘normal’ character in the film.

In the end, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is an uncomfortable yet engaging journey through complete chaos in the form of a darkly comedic psychological thriller elevated by a promising vision and the talents of Rose Byrne.

still courtesy of VVS Films

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.