PARK CITY, Utah—Contrary to its title, everyone in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You has their appendages. Rose Byrne’s protagonist, however, does have a wealth of problems and neuroses, and writer/director Mary Bronstein dives into her headspace with a full-bore intensity and immediacy that’s bracing at first, and wearisome by the end.
A portrait of a mother under constant siege, this grueling film—which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival—boasts an admirably committed performance from its lead. Unfortunately, it devolves into such a morass of shrill chaos and affected symbolism that it’s difficult to feel anything other than exasperation with its central maternal crisis.