There is a sub-set of films that fall under the category of ‘hard to watch, but necessary viewing’. British filmmaker Molly Manning Walker’s debut feature film, How To Have Sex falls under this category by providing an unflinching, unapologetic, and uncomfortable insight into the societal pressures of sex and the understanding of consent through the perspective of the audience who probably needs to see this film the most – post high-school teenagers who are about to embark on the unpredictable journey that is adulthood, and all the muddled lines of morality that they’re forced to navigate, often without guidance from those with more life experience.
How To Have Sex follows three friends, Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce), Skye (Lara Peake), and Em (Enva Lewis) who embark on the stereotypical, rite-of-passage trip to Malia to celebrate their recent high-school completion. The expectation – a summer getaway full of sun, beach, booze, and hook-ups, with the latter being more unexplored territory for Tara, who is ashamed to openly admit that she, unlike her friends, is still a virgin.
Not wanting to let the “embarrassment” of her virginity, or the pressure from those around her to find a random bloke to have sex with, affect her holiday, Tara lets loose on an alcohol fueled night partying with a group of strangers, leading to an unexpected sexual encounter that forces Tara to investigate her own perceptions of consent.
The most accurate way to describe the overall feeling and tone of Molly Manning Walker’s filmmaking is authentic. The dialogue, the party scenes, the intolerable, boisterous debauchery of 18-year-olds getting pissed and flailing around to house music in a dirty-by-day, neon-lit-by-night party city is unabashedly on full display, and Walker captures that feeling in a documentary/fly-on-the-wall manner that immerses the audience into this world. Whether you’ve done the Malia trip, or even just had a big night in a sweaty club, the oozing feeling of sex, drugs, and alcohol bursts out of the screen in a way that everyone can relate too.
But the feeling isn’t always one of fun. There’s a conflicting atmosphere at play during How To Have Sex. For every moment that is played off like it’s the best night of their lives, there is another moment of dread lurking in the air. Impending hangovers, smoke-bombing mates, and as the film eventually explores more, unwillingly being involved in sexual acts (whether they are witnessed on a stage in front of a crowd, or alone on a beach with no one else around) pave the way for the important themes of this film to present themselves through the story and characters, then force the audience to explore their own morality around these themes.
How To Have Sex is a confronting film because of its authenticity. Watching sexual assault occur on screen is never easy to watch. But Walker’s film demands the audience to understand the severity and importance of consent, and the predatory nature of some men, through these truly uncomfortable moments. It’s not an easy pill to swallow, but in order to allow the story to authentically explore the themes of sex and consent, it’s necessary.
Walker’s screenplay also makes the smart decision of presenting these themes through the perspective of Tara, who along with the audience, is experiencing the confusion, confliction and pressure in real time. The innocence of Tara is where a lot of the impact of the emotional drama lies, because as an audience, all aspects of her journey are covered. We see the pressure Tara is put under to hook up with people from her friend Skye, we see the uncomfortable positions she is put in by predatory men, we witness her confusion as to whether what happened to her was consensual or not. And by having Tara’s experiences be the foundation of the story, it allows the audience to have an entry point into exploring themes that haven’t been explored in film this way before.
The emotional impact of Tara’s journey doesn’t work unless the performance is solid, and that is no issue for Mia McKenna-Bruce, who manages to bring to life so many different feelings, emotions and sides of Tara. Every moment of the holiday ecstasy, all the way through to the devastation of her experience is portrayed with such nuance, care, and authenticity by McKenna-Bruce.
How To Have Sex presents challenging themes for its audience to explore, but the importance of a film like this demands to be watched and discussed. The authenticity of Molly Manning Walker’s screenplay and direction, along with a great performance from Mia McKenna-Bruce, lend to a harrowing, but necessary film.
How To Have Sex is in Australian cinemas from March 7, courtesy of Ahi Films.
