In a time when everything about sex is a Google search away, movies like How to Have Sex remind us today's teenagers might be as clueless as ever — and how dangerous that can be.
Molly Manning Walker's film feature debut is a harrowing watch, as a wild holiday party abroad becomes a nightmarish setting for a teenage girl dealing with her first sexual experiences and learning what real consent means.
"This is the kind of film I want my younger sister to see; she's sixteen," lead actress Mia McKenna-Bruce tells Digital Spy in an interview alongside director Manning Walker, ahead of the movie's UK release on November 3rd.
"This movie is getting people to have important conversations."
How to Have Sex follows teenage Tara (McKenna-Bruce) and her friends Skye (Lara Peake) and Em (Enva Lewis) as they explore the nightlife of Malia, Greece.
"I guess that's how I learned how to have sex, so it was about investigating that through those holidays that we went on when we were that age. So many of us went on those holidays, so this felt like the right place to start, " recalls Manning Walker.
What to Read Next
McKenna-Bruce also went on these holidays. As she puts it, "they’re kind of a given that these holidays are part of you growing up".
Like Ibiza and Magaluf in the Balearic Islands, the town of Malia is a favoured Mediterranean party destination for British youth. It's quite a particular and recognisable setting, but it's still transferrable to any other party-focus environment.
"Everyone has their own variation of it. If it's not these holidays, it's a camping trip or spring break, or even if it's just going out in your local town, so hopefully the setting isn't too much of a specific thing or experience," says Manning Walker.
It's really not — How to Have Sex feels universal, and incredibly poignant in its conversation around the complexities of consent.
"I didn’t want to make a judgment on these holidays, some of the best memories of my life are still on these holidays, and I think you should celebrate clubbing and those environments, even if we also have to say stuff about it too," explains the director.
"Life is not just one note, there's always these ups and downs."
In the movie, we follow Tara as she deals with a storm of complex feelings.
Among a massive alcohol-fuelled crowd moving to the rhythm of techno beats and collective sexual frenzy, she finds herself in a traumatising situation. Manning Walker doesn't shy away from showing it.
"There is a power in feeling it on screen," she argues about the portrayal of the story's darkest moments.
"The whole plan was showing it through Mia's face and experiencing it with her reaction, rather than to be super graphic or descriptive about it, because I don’t think we need to re-traumatise people too heavily."
McKenna-Bruce thinks it's a way to relate to the character.
"To be able to put yourself on what Tara is feeling is what a lot of people can relate to, but to be able to actually be there with her, you need to at least have some sort of idea of what’s going on," she says.
"You don’t need to see it, but you can feel it."
Through Tara's experiences, the movie opens a conversation about consent as a more elusive and complicated concept than some might think. Sometimes, factors such as societal pressure and inexperience play an unfortunate role in sexual encounters.
"As people, you give so much, it's more than what you just say, so it's really important to take away that [consent] is more than just saying yes or no," clarifies McKenna-Bruce.
How to Have Sex is the latest of a wave of female-led British feature debut, from Charlotte Wells' Aftersun to Charlotte Regan's Scrapper, in which Manning Walker actually worked as a cinematographer.
For her, this is a sign that the British industry is taking the right steps.
"I think we have to congratulate the execs in the UK, because they're doing amazing work, and they're really fighting for new voices to come through, fighting for women to make films," she argues.
"I think this new wave is very special and it's really amazing to be a part of it."
Now, her first movie is finally commercially arriving in cinemas after winning an award for best first feature at Cannes Film Festival and becoming one of the best-reviewed debuts of the year.
Beyond awards, critical praise or its potential box-office performance, How to Have Sex aims for even bigger goals. Manning Walker and her team also plan to bring the movie to schools — or "youth centres or places where kids congregate" — and start a conversation with young people.
After all, the movie holds very important lessons for young people struggling with their own introductions to sex. What should they take away from it?
"Be human, take in a person as a whole," offers McKenna-Bruce.
For Manning Walker, it's about going back to the basics which often need reminding — just be "kinder to each other".
How to Have Sex is released in the UK on November 3, 2023.
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
