How bad was the worst day you’ve ever had?
Extend it, set it to the “town” section of the shady motel in the “town” section of Montauk, tackling emotional events with many poor care patients, then add a child who is feeling sick with a long-term disability that you are the only caretaker. This starts to look like Mary Bronstein’s stunning, confrontational film “If I Have a Leg, I’ll Kick You.”
Leading many who turned it over as Rose Byrne’s career-best performance, the film surprised the suppressed Sundance Film Festival, which premiered the world earlier this year. Byrne plays Linda. Linda is a struggling shrink who hugged the boat’s captain husband (Christian Slater) and took charge of his young daughter, who is tied to a feeding device with one struggle-disabled dietary issues, but is as intentional and violent as an early elementary school child.
Yes, this is a film about Zero’s Women, both the star and the director agree. But it is not offered in the most epic conventions of that niche genre, as it was made by men.
“I wanted to express a certain sense of being a woman screaming at the ether in anger. The universe is trying to keep a sense of opposition to her. “The incredible women have brought those characters to life with great performances, but I wanted to do something fundamental from the women’s experience.”
It’s certainly radical. “If You Have a Foot,” originally from A24, arrived in Park City with the charming dangers that Emerald Fennell ultimately poses in Oscar nominee, “a promising young woman” in 2020. And like Fennell, Bronstein certainly doesn’t care about your forgiveness.
Here, Byrne and Bronstein discuss the complex emotional effects of films on audiences and the boldness of hyperspecific films.
How easy is it to get a movie like “If I Have a Leg”?
Mary Bronstein: The struggle in this film was creative, not commercial. My theory is that the more specific you get, the more people can find themselves and get involved. If there’s something for everyone, then it’s for whom. It’s almost counterintuitive. I began writing films and elicited the existential crisis I was experiencing. Expresses the feeling that a woman is always carrying her. You are told you don’t listen, like the incredible, the feeling of being a gaslit, you don’t know what’s best for you. However, there are absurdities as well. When things are already bad, then your pencil breaks and it’s like, “What the hell?” It’s a difficult film in terms of asking a large audience, but it doesn’t depend on hope, it asks you to work with them. This is not a movie that holds your hand.
Rose Byrne: This isn’t usually my way. There aren’t many scripts written for women of our age. It’s a story that introduces you as a real person, not a separate character’s attachment, not a meaty one. This was extraordinary.
Bronstein: I wanted Rose because of her perfect comedy talent, but she is also apt and serious tech actor. It’s really rare that you can shed tears on your heels of laughter. And Rose is the beloved actor I needed. I took my audience to difficult places and unconsciously needed someone to feel comfortable and kind to the audience.
Rose, the camera is close to your face in the movie. It’s a never-ending stress test, but it works very well.
Byrne: (Nod, widen your eyes).
Bronstein: We filmed in a movie. I wanted to feel this was dirty. The bad version of this film is smooth and clean. My amazing cinematographer Christopher Messina understood and we were both at such a rock step. He either had a camera or was on a tripod. I didn’t want to use a zoom lens. That really speaks to Rose’s talent. You can physically hear the film camera capture the frame, but you didn’t shake her. It was inch from her face.
When I saw this at Sundance, I was sitting next to a woman I didn’t know. Finally, we just held our hands. Along my way, another woman – the same age – was very upset by the journey a fictional girl takes in this film. What do you say about both?
Byrne: A similar situation occurred in one of the Q&As. The answer is… how people feel about it is not my business. I know this movie asks a lot of them.
Bronstein: Both of those responses are correct. Either way, it’s a victory. You want the audience to feel something and leave.
How did men respond to stories like this? None of the male characters really relieves Linda’s burden, except for one.
Bronstein: Many men are very deeply involved in the character (of Christian Slater). When a partner is experiencing pain, the man says, “I feel helpless. I don’t know what to do. I want to solve the problem, but I don’t want to solve the problem. Everything I say is wrong.”
Byrne: It is also important to note that Linda is experiencing very rare circumstances as a parent. (Counseling your daughter’s illness) is not typical for most parents. I think it’s talking about how all kinds of trauma can feel. Linda is looking for someone to listen and verify her.
How does this movie register for both your work?
Byrne: For me, it sums up as a creative highlight of my career.
A $AP Rocky is in this film and he is phenomenal. Have you ever met Rihanna?
Byrne: Not me, she.
Bronstein: Rocky had a very long costume fitting, so it was about five hours. I sat with him and he facetimed Rihanna. All I could say was, “What a god.”
