How to Have Sex film review: A searing editorial debut
A hit at the recent London Film Festival, How To Have Sex is a hard-hitting British drama about the dangers of seeking the “Best Holiday Ever”. Mia McKenna- Bruce stars as Tara, a girl waiting on her GCSE results with a mixture of excitement and fear. To put this deadline off, she and her two besties head to Malia to dance, drink, and in Tara’s case lose her virginity.
As the nights get wild, the group forms a bond with the apartment next door, but romance turns to dread after Tara’s sexual awakening turns into a nightmare. Dramas like this are often told with broad brushstrokes, but director Molly Manning Walker reminds us how often teenage hedonism can be both heaven and hell. The clubs are filled with neon- drenched euphoria one moment, and dread the next. Tara goes from feeling like this is the “Best Holiday Ever” (as the group repeatedly chant) to walking littered streets, struggling to vocalise what has happened to her.
The impact comes from how real these grey areas feel, and the messiness of having to experience very adult situations when you’re still only a child. While the ensemble all contribute, it’s McKenna-Bruce who provides the star-making turn. Rather than chew scenery, she shifts her entire being as the events of the trip make their mark on her. Lara Peake and Enva Lewis give the plot depth as Skye and Em, who are on their own journeys in the sun. The enticing neighbours, Badger (Shaun Thomas), Paddy (Sam Bottomley) and Paige (Laura Ambler) all show what lies a few years down the road.
How To Have Sex is certainly not an easy watch, with anyone over a certain age maybe feeling a protective concern for these youngsters walking into the lion’s den. However, it’s a searing directorial debut that marks the arrival of exciting new talents