How to Have Sex

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How to Have Sex

Released Feb 2

1h 38m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

142 Reviews

65%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday -- drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.

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Critics Consensus

A powerful debut for Molly Manning Walker, How to Have Sex authentically captures female adolescence and friendship with sobering effervescence.

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Wenlei Ma

The Nightly (AU)

It’s naturalistic, thoughtful, and deeply, deeply uncomfortable because there are familiar behaviours that almost anyone will remember from their own adolescence — and wish they could forget.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 10, 2024

Full Review

Geordie Gray

The Australian

This film marks Molly Manning Walker as a director to watch.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 24, 2024

Full Review

Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

Walker realizes this is risky material but she avoids sensationalism in charting Tara’s treacherous journey, one that requires lead McKenna-Bryce to crawl into tough emotional spaces.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 15, 2024

Full Review

Abe Friedtanzer

Cinema Daily US

This film and its cast compellingly convey the importance of telling the truth and of looking at events through the proper lens, one that assigns blame to those who do wrong and not those without the ability to stop them.

Rated: B+

Jul 27, 2024

Full Review

Brittany Patrice Witherspoon

Pop Culture Reviews

Director Walker does something really special within How to Have Sex. She demonstrates the importance of true friendship and allyship which all simply boils down to ‘women looking out for women.’

Rated: 4/5

Jul 26, 2024

Full Review

Carla Monfort

Espinof

Provides a fresh and at the same time forceful perspective on a subject that we have already seen many times in the cinema. [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 22, 2024

Full Review

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Ghederick Eshmont

The film’s brilliance is evident in its nuance & what’s left unsaid by Tara. Molly Manning-Walker’s debut is exceptional.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/24

Full Review

Christian P

That's how British people have fun on holidays. Kinda sad.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/29/24

Full Review

PERIPHERY T

A masterful look into the binge party world of adolescence and regrets that are all too familiar to many. Uncomfortable and unforgettable. Beautifully crafted film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/12/24

Full Review

Fong Kok Hoong F

Winner of 2023 Un Certain Regard Award at Cannes, Molly Manning Walker's directorial debut is a searingly honest and frighteningly realistic essay about girls' sexual pressure and consent when a trio of teenage schoolgirls goes on the "best holiday ever" in Malia to club, drink and hook up in their post-GCSE celebration of newfound freedom.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/03/24

Full Review

julie b

In 85 mins this packs a PUNCH. I felt like I couldn’t breathe the whole time and it broke my heart. The neon lights, the music, the perfectly captured loneliness in a crowded room, pressures of being a teen/partying/hooking up, kindness of strangers, shittiness of friends, etc. Mia Mckenna Bruce’s expression and eyes say it all. Hope this sparks more conversation than division / demonization. “Would you rather be a baby goat or a mata baby”

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/19/24

Full Review

Dani G

Chaotic edition, sometimes exhausting narrative, and with some kind of message (?) in the end

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/22/24

Full Review

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Molly Manning Walker

Director

Mia McKenna-Bruce

Tara

Samuel Bottomley

Paddy

Lara Peake

Skye

Shaun Thomas

Badger

Eilidh Loan

Fi

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Synopsis

Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday -- drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.

Director: Molly Manning Walker
Producer: Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Emily Leo, Ivana Mackinnon
Screenwriter: Molly Manning Walker, Molly Manning Walker
Distributor: MUBI
Production Co: British Film Institute, Heretic, Film4
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 2, 2024, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $177.4K
Runtime: 1h 38m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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