PARK CITY – You may be dealing with a lot of stress in your life, I mean, who isn’t? But it’s highly unlikely anyone in your vicinity is experiencing the cascade of anxiety Linda (Rose Byrne) endures in Mary Bornstein’s long-awaited second feature, “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You.” A world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, this A24 release makes, Marianne Heller’s “Nightbitch,” a contemporary film with similar themes, seem as tame as an episode of “Sesame Street.” That’s quite an accomplishment.
READ MORE: 25 Most Anticipated Movies at Sundance 2025
Our story begins in the wilds of suburban Long Island, and it immediately becomes apparent that Linda has too much on her plate. Not only is she a working mom, but her young daughter (Delaney Quinn) is suffering from what appears to be an eating disorder. She’s enrolled in a daily program with like-minded students to encourage them to eat and spends her nights connected to a feeding tube. The goal is to get Linda’s daughter (we never learn her name) to gain two more pounds before a certain date. If she doesn’t, the doctors subtly threaten ambiguous “changes” to the treatment plan.
As Linda deals with external pressure from her out-of-town husband over their child’s fate (an uncredited Christian Slater), her day job brings no relief. As a therapist, she is having problems reaching Caroline (Danielle MacDonald), a recent mother struggling with major postpartum depression, and then there is Stephen (Daniel Zolghadri), a regular client with an unhealthy obsession with her.  Complicating matters, Linda is getting her therapy from the counselor she shares her office with (Conan O’Brien), and he’s absolutely lost patience with her.
Things take a turn for the worse when a huge hole opens up in the roof of her bedroom, seemingly a physical manifestation of her neverending problems, forcing Linda and her daughter to flee to a cheap motel. When the contractor disappears because of a family emergency, and the doctors become hostile, the weight of her predicament begins to take a heavy toll. Even a minor confrontation with the motel receptionist becomes a triggering event.
The film deftly touches on the societal pressures of motherhood, the inherent misogyny many mothers face, and a healthcare system that is often not properly equipped to deal with either of those issues. That’s only a small aspect of why “Kick You” is a notable achievement, however. Instead, it’s the collaboration between Bornstein, editor Lucian Johnson, cinematographer Christopher Messina, and an often incredible performance from Byrne that transforms what many would read as a domestic melodrama on paper into an often searing, visceral thriller. Not only is Linda stressed, but so will the audience watching this drama unfold. Bornstein has fashioned a cinematic anxiety-fueled experience whether you can relate to having children or not.
There are also directorial choices from the filmmaker that are borderline brilliant. For instance, Linda’s daughter is an obvious fixture. You hear her voice. She nags her mother constantly. But Bornstein makes sure you never see her face, and you barely see her form outside of a figure covered in a comforter in bed. Linda’s husband is also a regular nagging presence, but only in phone conversations, and almost always happening at the wrong time from thousands of miles away. There is also a tease of something otherworldly at work in that hole in her ceiling. Is it some sort of manifestation? Are the stars she sees all in her head? These creative decisions are a subtle mechanism to project the inherent isolation Linda is enduring as events only seem to get worse. This is top-tier filmmaking, everyone.
Bornstein is also smart enough to give her audience a reprieve every once again from the seemingly impending doom. There’s the motel super (A$AP Rocky), who is a breath of fresh air and moments of genuine tenderness between Linda and her daughter. But, my word, you may leave the theater feeling like you just walked out of a horror movie. And, yes, that’s intended as a massive compliment. [A-/B+]
Check out the latest reviews from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and The Playlist’s complete coverage from Park City here.