How to Have Sex

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How to Have Sex

Released Feb 2, 2024

1h 38m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

148 Reviews

63%

Popcornmeter

250+ 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

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Geordie Gray

The Australian

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

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 24, 2024

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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

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Rohan Naahar

The Indian Express

A disturbing companion piece to Netflix's Adolescence; director Molly Manning Walker's coming-of-age film will be particularly satisfying to anybody who felt that the show was neglectful of the victim's experience.

Jul 28, 2025

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Samantha Schuster

Cinéfilo Serial

With a great performance by McKenna-Bruce and an interesting perspective from its director, as well as the atmosphere she manages to create, How to Have Sex is an intense, surprising, and necessary coming-of-age story. [Full Review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/5

Jul 25, 2025

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Audra Heinrichs

Jezebel

How to Have Sex transcends any other in the coming-of-age genre and becomes that of a horror movie.

Mar 20, 2025

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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

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Jack T

Brilliant, clever, thoughtful...and sex! Really enjoyed

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/11/25

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florencia L

It is a concerning movie. Through the eyes of the characters, it's a journey where binge drinking is desired, glorified and normalised. The reflection of the human quality and their lost meaning is reflected in the trashed, vomited and peed on landscape. Empty relationships and objectified sexual intimacy, this is not a rite of passage movie, but a worrying portrait of confused and damaged youth.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/05/25

Full Review

Wayne M

How To Have Sex is a thoughtful and insightful look into teenage behaviour. It's languid and simmering, fun and nuanced. The film follows three teenage girls off for a summer holiday to Crete. Tara, Em and Skye are best friends and are looking forward to a few days of sun, drinking and perhaps sex. Tara is the only virgin in the small group. Over a couple of days the film follows the three girls and their time on the island. They meet a nice lad in Badger who Tara develops feelings for. Badger has a friend named Paddy who later is involved in an unsavoury incident with Tara. This film could have been just a teenage romp, but it's a little more nuanced than that. We see that all three girls are uncertain about their futures and also how boys can prey on them when they are vulnerable. Performances are great, especially Mia McKenna-Bruce as Tara. A smart and worthy teenage film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/23/25

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Cherry K

A fantastic film about consent and fake friendships.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/09/25

Full Review

Fil S

I don't know why some people consider it such a good movie. Quite boring, but it mostly benefits from marketing and picture. Very boring and irritating in some moments.. especially when the girls they scream. The only thing that's worth it is the meaning.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/25/25

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

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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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