A. S. Hamrah

The mere existence of a second Mary Bronstein movie, much less one as amazing as this, proves that patience and a bad attitude are not just their own rewards. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, her second film and her first since 2008’s Yeast (one of the best American films of the 21st century), is a masterpiece of alienated frenzy. It’s a comic version of The Exorcist in which the mother is the one possessed.

I can only take so much messiah talk in science fiction, especially when it’s coming from Javier Bardem and Timothée Chalamet, both of whom I generally like, but here all I could think about was that they’d played Desi Arnaz and Bob Dylan. Did those two ever meet? This movie takes place in the year 10,191 and once I knew that I kept wondering if movies from the 10,180s and 10,170s were better. Anya Taylor-Joy shows up, a refugee from Furiosa, a much better film set in a much more interesting desert wasteland in a time closer to our own. On the other hand, there is a scene in Dune: Part Two where we learn that the Fremens’ food is too spicy for some people.

I’m troubled by writers who never ask themselves, “What if I didn’t do this?” Some things should be passed over in silence. I felt that way last fall when Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour came out in theaters. When I noticed aging male film critics rushing to see this nearly three-hour concert film so they could write about it, I was embarrassed for them.