Mubi Monday: How To Have Sex (2023)

You could argue that How To Have Sex would be just as suited to the title "How Not To Have Sex", but the omission of that one word feels as calculated and pointed as anything else in the film.

Mia McKenna-Bruce plays Tara, a young woman who heads off on a party holiday with her friends, Em (Enva Lewis) and Skye (Lara Peake). That's not quite right though. These characters aren't actually young women. They're still girls, looking forward to a holiday in which they can pretend to be older than they actually are, determined to drink plenty of alcohol and have plenty of sex. The latter looks more likely when they befriend some people staying in the same hotel. Both Badger (Shaun Thomas) and Paddy (Samuel Bottomley) have a chance of being deemed suitable candidates, maybe not Mr. Right, but potentially Mr. Right Here And Now. Things soon start to sour for at least one of our main characters though, and it becomes clear that she isn't going to tell the truth to her friends.

Written and directed by Molly Manning Walker, How To Have Sex is a brilliant and vital feature debut that explores the different pressures on girls and boys, the issue of consent, and the many ways in which society mishandles the very notion of sex, often ensuring that people feel too uncomfortable discussing it when it would be better to have more open and frank dialogue on the subject, in the way that we are nowadays making some progress when it comes to mental health. While the film could have been ruined by some of the expected holidaying teen behaviour depicted onscreen, it avoids this major pitfall thanks to Walker's handling of the material and her exceptional cast.

This may not be the first film role for McKenna-Bruce, but it certainly feels like a breakout one for her, carrying the real central crux of the film on her slight shoulders for most of the runtime. She puts on a smile and a brave face throughout, whether hiding her insecurities or inwardly shrinking away from the memory of some very unpleasant recent events. Peake and Lewis are just as good, playing the kind of friends we all seemed to have at that age. One is a bit more sensible and supportive, the other is ready to reveal some embarrassing secrets just to get closer to some new friends and feel a bit more popular for a fleeting moment. Then we have Thomas and Bottomley, both allowed to reveal some surprising layers to their characters as things play out, and both doing great work.

The soundtrack is full of loud club music, the editing and cinematography moves you through lively drinking and dancing sessions into hazy and muggy periods of hungover recovery, and there's a resolution to things that will disappoint many after something more cinematically satisfying, but will resonate with those who know how these things play out. How To Have Sex isn't just a great film, it's an important conversation-starter, and it's up to everyone who sees it to make themselves a positive contributor to the dialogue it encourages.

9/10

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