Review: How To Have Sex

Words by Henry Clarke / Edited by Mia Stapleton

Henry Clarke reviews How To Have Sex, director Molly Manning Walker’s first feature film.

How To Have Sex (2023) is the first feature film from director Molly Manning Walker, and follows a group of young girls on a post-GCSE party holiday. This concept is all too familiar for anyone who has ever been 16 years old in the UK. The celebratory party holiday is a rite of passage for many, yet is rarely seen on screen beyond comedies like The Inbetweeners Movie, or reality TV like Ibiza Weekender. Manning Walker’s directorial debut takes the realism and relatability of these examples whilst posing a nuanced and tender question of consent within this culture, resulting in a harrowing yet personal and authentic drama.

To call How To Have Sex a party-holiday film would overlook its depth and ability to question the strange and complex culture around said holidays. The film follows three girls, Tara (Mia Mckenna Bruce), Skye (Lara Peake), and Em (Enva Louis) on a post-GCSE holiday in Malia. Tara is the protagonist, the only virgin of the group, who is feeling a growing pressure to lose her virginity. This pressure begins to grow throughout the holiday in the sexual culture within the party scene they indulge themselves. Manning-Walker crafts an uncomfortable yet relatable tone through the meticulous script and what feels like improvised acting. The conversations between the teenagers feel real and accessible, but with a growing undertone of anxiety and growing coercion channeled through Tara as a character.

The awkward stage of being 16, sexually inexperienced, and eager to conform to those around you, is perfectly represented here. Tara and her friends are seen having so much fun, and the first 30 minutes feel like a classic Inbetweeners-style romp. But sexual perturbation begins to sneak up on Tara with the introduction of Badger (Shaun Thomas). A lovable and endearing character with a rebellious streak and a penchant for heavy drinking. He is also on holiday with friends, and the two groups intertwine in what starts as a conjoined friendship group of fun and chaos. The introduction of Badgers holiday accompaniment Paddy, played by Ackley Bridge star Samuel Bottomley, quickly introduces a dark undertone.

The film descends into a dark mystery drama, questioning consent within the relationships formed on these holidays filled with parties, booze, and drugs. Tara and Badger’s groups collide and form what feels like at first an authentic friendship group, but the film questions this as cracks start to form between drunken antics and sexual experiences. How To Have Sex is a masterful exploration of these dark and sensitive questions around the teenage experience that have never been posed in film to this extent before. Mia Mckenna, known previously for her Dumping Ground role, executes every scene in a mature yet appropriate and realistically juvenile manner, cementing her as a powerful player and rising star in UK film.

How To Have Sex is now showing in UK cinemas.

(Image Credit: The Times)