'It's A Weird Time To Be A Mom': If I Had Legs I’d Kick You Director Explains The Rise Of The Maternal Breakdown Film

When Mary Bronstein wrote If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, she did it alone, translating a deeply personal experience with her own daughter into a fictionalized story of a mom unraveling under the pressures of motherhood. When the film was released in January 2025, it was an early sign of a trend that has persisted as the year progressed: filmmakers are turning their cameras on maternal trauma.

“When you make a film, you’re not in dialogue with other films that are being made,” Bronstein tells SheKnows.