How to Have Sex
Film poster
Directed byMolly Manning Walker
Written byMolly Manning Walker
Produced by
  • Ivana MacKinnon
  • Emily Leo
  • Konstantinos Kontovrakis
Starring
CinematographyNicolas Canniccioni
Edited byFin Oates
Music byJakwob
Production
companies
  • Film4
  • BFI
  • MK2 Films
  • Head Gear Films
  • Metrol Technology
Distributed byMubi
Release dates
  • 19 May 2023 (2023-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 3 November 2023 (2023-11-03) (United Kingdom)
Running time
91 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$892,340

How to Have Sex is a 2023 British drama film written and directed by Molly Manning Walker, in her directorial debut. The film stars Mia McKenna-Bruce, Lara Peake, Samuel Bottomley, Shaun Thomas, Enva Lewis and Laura Ambler.

How to Have Sex had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2023, where it won the Un Certain Regard prize, and was released in the United Kingdom on 3 November 2023, by Mubi.

Plot

Sixteen-year-old best friends Tara, Em, and Skye head to the party resort of Malia on the Greek island of Crete for a rites-of-passage holiday. While Em will be off to college in the Autumn, Tara and Skye are less certain of their futures. The girls all look forward to drinking, clubbing, and hooking up in what should be the best summer of their lives. Tara, the only virgin in the trio, feels pressure to match the sexual experiences of her friends. Tara loses her virginity to Paddy at the beach.

Cast

Production

In October 2022, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Lara Peake, Shaun Thomas, Samuel Bottomley, Enva Lewis and Laura Ambler joined the cast of the film, with Molly Manning Walker directing from a screenplay she wrote.[2]

Release

How to Have Sex had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2023,[3] in the Un Certain Regard section.[4] Prior to, Mubi acquired distribution rights to the film for North America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Latin America, Turkey and Benelux.[5] It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'Flash Forward' section and was screened on 7 October 2023.[6]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 46 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "A powerful debut for Molly Manning Walker, How to Have Sex authentically captures female adolescence and friendship with sobering effervescence."[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[8]

Manning Walker's direction and McKenna-Bruce's performance received unanimous acclaim.[9] The Guardian's Wendy Ide wrote, "Walker's handling of the film's tonal range is remarkably assured: the picture is skittish, spirited and very funny, and at the same time troubling and bruisingly sad."[10] Guy Lodge of Variety described McKenna-Bruce's performance as "star-making", adding the film "lays out the minefield of sexual education and consent for a post-#MeToo generation, with a precision to its ambiguities that will draw gasps from its characters' contemporaries and elders alike".[11] Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent commented, "Described by its director as loosely autobiographical, How to Have Sex is built around a subtle but devastating rug-pull that exposes the culture of sex and consent in the same way F Scott Fitzgerald put the Jazz Age on blast in The Great Gatsby."[12]

Accolades

Award / Film Festival Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 27 May 2023 Un Certain Regard Molly Manning Walker Won [13]
Queer Palm Nominated [14]
Caméra d'Or Nominated
Jerusalem Film Festival 23 July 2023 The Nechama Rivilin Award for Best International Film How to Have Sex Nominated [15]
Melbourne International Film Festival 19 August 2023 Bright Horizons Award Nominated [16]
Zurich Film Festival 8 October 2023 Best International Feature Film Nominated [17]
Athens International Film Festival 9 October 2023 Best Picture Won [18]
Valladolid International Film Festival 28 October 2023 Golden Spike Nominated [19]
Young Jury Prize Official Section Won [20]
Best New Director Molly Manning Walker Won
British Independent Film Awards 3 December 2023 Best Casting Isabella Odoffin Won [21][22]
Best Costume Design George Buxton Nominated
Best Make-Up & Hair Design Natasha Lawes Nominated
Best Sound Steve Fanagan Nominated
Best British Independent Film Molly Manning Walker, Ivana MacKinnon, Emily Leo, and Konstantinos Kontovrakis Nominated
Best Director Molly Manning Walker Nominated
Best Lead Performance Mia McKenna-Bruce Won
Breakthrough Performance Nominated
Best Supporting Performance Samuel Bottomley Nominated
Shaun Thomas Won
Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) Molly Manning Walker Nominated
Best Debut Screenwriter Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
European Film Awards 9 December 2023 Best Actress Mia McKenna-Bruce Pending [23]
European Discovery Molly Manning Walker Pending
University Film Award How to Have Sex Pending [24]

References

  1. ↑ "How To Have Sex' (15)". BBFC. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (21 October 2022). "MK2 Boards Film4 & BFI-Backed 'How To Have Sex'; 'Vampire Academy' & 'Persuasion' Actress Mia McKenna-Bruce Among Cast". Deadline.
  3. ↑ "The Screenings Guide of the 76th Festival de Cannes" (PDF). festival-cannes.com. 10 May 2023. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  4. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (13 April 2023). "Cannes Film Festival Lineup: Haynes, Anderson, Glazer, Kore-Eda, Wenders In Competition – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Ntim, Zac (27 April 2023). "Mubi Picks Up Molly Manning Walker's Feature 'How To Have Sex' Ahead Of Cannes Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "How to Have Sex". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "How to Have Sex". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Feldberg, Isaac (31 May 2023). "Cannes 2023: How to Have Sex, Los Delincuentes, The New Boy". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Ide, Wendy (5 November 2023). "How to Have Sex review – two stars are born with this searing study of consent". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  11. ↑ Lodge, Guy (20 May 2023). "'How to Have Sex' Review: Molly Manning Walker's Debut Makes a Hot Neon Splash Before Turning Chillingly Dark". Variety. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  12. ↑ Loughrey, Clarisse (6 November 2023). "How to Have Sex review: Teens go wild in a stark, devastating coming-of-ager". The Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  13. ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (26 May 2023). "Molly Manning Walker's 'How To Have Sex' Wins Top Prize In Cannes Un Certain Regard; Jury President John C. Reilly Serenades Audience After Director Arrives Late For Ceremony". Deadline. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Florian Ques (4 May 2023). "Festival de Cannes : voici les films en lice pour la Queer Palm 2023". Têtu (in French). Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  15. ↑ Brown, Hannah (28 June 2023). "2023 Jerusalem Film Fest announces international movie lineup". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  16. ↑ Ward, Sarah (20 August 2023). "Senegalese-French Love Story 'Banel & Adama' Just Won MIFF's 2023 Bright Horizons Award". Concrete Playground. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  17. ↑ Dams, Tim (14 September 2023). "Zurich Film Festival unveils full 2023 line-up; Todd Haynes and Jessica Chastain to be honoured". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  18. ↑ Grivas, Alexis (11 October 2023). "Molly Manning Walker's 'How to Have Sex' triumphs at Athens". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  19. ↑ Rivera, Alfonso (19 October 2023). "Valladolid's Seminci celebrates its first edition directed by José Luis Cienfuegos". Cineuropa. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  20. ↑ Hopewell, John; Sandoval, Pablo (29 October 2023). "Valladolid: 'The Permanent Picture,' 'The Old Oak' Win Big as the Spanish Festival's Reboot Wins Applause". Variety. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  21. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (2 November 2023). "Jodie Comer, Paul Mescal Score Nods as 'Rye Lane,' 'Scrapper', 'All of Us Strangers' Lead British Independent Film Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  22. ↑ Dalton, Ben (20 November 2023). "'All Of Us Strangers' leads Bifa 2023 craft winners with three awards; 'Femme', 'The Kitchen' take two each". Screen International. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  23. ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (7 November 2023). "'Fallen Leaves' & 'The Zone Of Interest' Top European Film Award Nominations In Main Categories". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  24. ↑ "These are the five nominated films for European University Film Award (EUFA)". europeanfilmawards.eu. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
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