In October of 2025, A24, an indie film company, premiered the movie “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”, starring Rose Baryn, and this film explores all the complexities of being a working mother of a chronically ill child.
If this movie could have one word to describe it, “antagonizing” would be the perfect pick because it is so stressful and keeps viewers on their toes constantly.
The movie itself is centered around a woman who is a working therapist, mother of a chronically ill child, and struggling with the absence of her husband, henceforth having to deal with the struggle of her child all on her own, including her struggle at work when one of her patients goes missing, and the other is obsessed with her. Alongside that, her house is getting redone andshe is living in a motel, with many dangerous tenants that indulge in drugs.
One of the most important parts of the film is the aspect of motherhood portrayed through a complex perspective, one where the mother doesn’t know everything and instead is also having to learn everyday.
Most films represent motherhood as a perfect picture with a happy ending, but “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” incorporates the fact that mothers aren’t only caregivers to their children’s life, they are people too, who make mistakes and have a life with struggles, while incorporating the fact that these learning curves don’t make them bad people, which is the message the movie is trying to convey.
“Motherhood is a learned process, you learn more about yourself, but sometimes it’s just hard, and sometimes you don’t have all those warm, fuzzy feelings that get promoted socially and culturally, and the idea that if you don’t feel those feelings, that somehow means that you a bad mom or not doing it right” said Jennifer Money, a professor at Chaffey College, and a proud single mother.
This direct quote from a mother herself shows the raw truth of the movie, since for the entirety of the movie, the main character’s daughter’s face was covered and was not shown to viewers until the very end. This was to create the disconnection and disdain that Baryn’s character had for her daughter, which is exactly what Money is explaining.
One of our teachers here at LOHS, Mrs. Grennan said, “A misconception about motherhood is that we know what we’re doing as it’s unfolding, we’re expected to know how to handle things, even though this is our first rodeo.”
This is something we see very clearly in the movie, as the mother, Baryn’s character, doesn’t know how to deal with certain situations, but pretends she does to comfort her child.
“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” has many hidden messages, although they are represented in strange ways throughout the movie, and it can get uncomfortable at times.
Zackary Whitacre, a junior here at LOHS, commented on the movie by saying, “It was very stressful, and very fast paced, and confusing, and I think it was made to be like that, but I personally didn’t enjoy it because it put me under too much stress.”
The beauty of this movie is truly in the eye of the beholder because, although there were some gory and strange aspects to this movie, the message itself was overall amazing.
If you like intense movies that always keep you on your toes, then it is totally worth it to check out this movie, because it is one of the best movies of 2025!