Mary Bronstein is back with one of the wildest, insightful movies of the year with If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You. Bronstein previously made her feature directorial debut with the 2008 comedy Yeast, in which she starred alongside Amy Judd and future Chronicles of Narnia helmer Greta Gerwig. Apart from her 2009 short film, Round Town Girls, the new A24 film marks her first directorial effort after having shifted to acting in the 15 years since.

If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You centers on Linda, a therapist on the verge of a breakdown as she tries to balance her child’s mysterious illness, in which she has a severe aversion to food, her largely absent husband and hostile relationship with her therapist. When the ceiling of her apartment collapses and floods the house, Linda and her daughter have to move into a shabby H๏τel, but as she finds comfort in its superintendent, a missing person further adds to her deteriorating mental state.

Rose Byrne leads the star-studded cast of If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You, which also features Conan O’Brien in his first major acting role as Linda’s therapist; Golden Globe nominee Christian Slater as Linda’s husband, Charles; rapper/actor ASAP Rocky as James, the motel’s superintendent; and Danielle Macdonald as one of Linda’s patients who goes missing.

Having premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the movie is already garnering lots of Oscars buzz, particularly after Byrne won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the Berlin International Film Festival.

In honor of the movie’s wide release, ScreenRant interviewed Mary Bronstein to discuss If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You. The writer/director opened up about the unique origins behind the movie’s тιтle, including her hopes for audience’s interpretations of it, as well as making the ultimate genreless film, and casting O’Brien and ASAP Rocky for their roles.

Even Bronstein Is Still Determining The Meaning Of If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You’s тιтle

While an award-winning star, a powerhouse indie studio and major early acclaim are enough to sell a film, there’s no denying that If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You‘s unique тιтle is sure to catch many people’s eyes. Even more intriguing is the fact that there are multiple characters in the film to whom this idea could be attributed to.

Whether it’s Byrne’s Linda in a more metaphorical sense, as she’s frequently cut out at the knee with her ever-stressful life, or a couple others who, for one reason or another, the eponymous concept is one that could be interpreted in a variety of ways, and thus makes the A24 film all the more intriguing.

For Bronstein, however, she reveals she originally “had no idea what it would be“ when she first came up with If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You as a тιтle at the age of 18. Even as she began writing this film, the filmmaker acknowledged she “didn’t have a тιтle” for it, until the phrase “popped back into my head“, feeling it was perfect for the movie.

However, when asked about its actual meaning within the film, she’s not quite ready to give her own interpretation yet, as she wants “the viewer to interpret what they may from it“.

The A24 Film Is The Epitome Of A “Genreless” Movie

Across its 13-year tenure in the industry, A24 has become very well-known for their genre-bending тιтles. Whether it’s the absurdist multiverse dramedy Everything Everywhere All At Once — which memorably brought home seven Oscars, including Best Picture — or the surreal existential epic that was Beau is Afraid, the studio has never shied away from films that refuse to embrace just one label. Which is where If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You truly makes a good home for itself at A24.

As Bronstein describes, she looks at her new film as being “genreless“, with the writer/director “employing tools from so many genres” to flesh out her story. Linda’s descent into madness comprises everything from psychological horror to “dark comedy“, “straight-up drama“, and even a bit of “surrealism” and “abstract, experimental filmmaking” for good measure.

“That’s a terror that’s inside of yourself, so it’s not like a guy running down the hallway with a knife,” Bronstein described. “It’s inside yourself. There’s something inside of her that she is so desperately trying to escape from, and you can’t do it. It’s going to get you. No matter how slow the zombies walk, they’re going to get you. And it’s like that with her trauma, and it all culminates in that apartment. It all is in that apartment in some way, shape, or form.“

What We Learned From Bronstein About Building If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You’s Cast

ScreenRant: I strongly believe Rose is going to get nominated, and I think she’s the front-runner right now, but beyond her, Conan O’Brien and ASAP Rocky, amazing performances that are unlike anything I’ve seen them in before. ASAP was great in Highest 2 Lowest earlier this year, but he’s playing a rapper, not too foreign from his actual career this time around, you got something so different out of him. Same thing with Conan. Can you kind of talk to me about your directorial style and bringing different elements out of your performers?

Mary Bronstein: What I like to do is subvert expectations. So it’s not stunt casting, as such, but it’s taking somebody like Conan O’Brien and sort of extracting something out of him that I know is there, but that he doesn’t readily show, or is not the obvious thing about him. So, it’s this sort of repression or oppression or ʙuттoned-upness that I’m extracting from him there. And from Rocky, he actually filmed my film first and then went to do that other film. The character’s name is James, or Jamie as he likes to be called. I named the character James because of James Dean. A guy that walks in a room and is just cool and is just comfortable wherever he is, and just oozes charm.

You can’t direct that into somebody. You can’t teach that to somebody, that has to be there. So, I’m using what Rocky has. Rocky’s a guy that can walk in a room and wink at a woman, and it’s natural for him. So, I am taking that and using that as a tool, but also putting him in a completely different situation than we’ve ever seen him. He’s not a musician, he’s not a rapper, he’s not any of those things. He’s the super at a really sh—y motel. It’s not used to where we’re seeing him, and I think combining those two with, like you said, an actress of such caliber as Rose, a more traditional actor, is how I was able to make this film different than other films.

Be sure to check out our previous If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You interviews from Sundance!