TIFF 2023: How to Have Sex Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Molly Manning Walker’s directorial debut, the shockingly titled How to Have Sex, is an emotional firecracker of a film. Filled with ups and downs, her coming-of-age story features three 16-year-old British girls who venture to the small Greek island of Crete to a vacation town that is infested with thousands of other young British tourists keen on partying as hard as they possibly can. 

The three girls are eager to escape their realities and looming test scores by basking in the island city’s wild and sweaty party atmosphere, where everyone is seemingly drunk, high, and looking to have sex. The girls make a bet on who will have sex first, and Tara (McKenna-Bruce), is the only virgin of the trio. The pressure put on her by her friends, Em (Lewis) and Skye (Peake), is felt instantly. From the jump the chemistry between the three leads is kinetic. They feel like they’ve known each other forever, and it isn’t hard to quickly buy into their dynamic. 

Once the trio meet soon find a similar group made up of two guys and a girl, a significant amount of tension that can be felt at all times despite the upbeat energy and atmosphere that these characters are joyously jumping into. The tension is inflicted in multiple ways as the film does a good job at painting a picture of the complexity of feeling nervous and feeling out of one’s depth in a sometimes scary place. On one hand, there is the pressure that Tara feels from her friend Skye, as she often makes jokes at her expense. These jokes are never outrageously rude, but they put her in a place of discomfort and embarrassment in front of their new friends. On the other hand, these new friends have an impact on Tara and her friends. There is pressure to go with the flow and feel comfortable in certain situations even when you are completely uncomfortable. 

The resulting anxiety and tension is where the film is at its strongest. It is supremely effective at making one’s stomach tighten and mind worry when confronted with some very dark and uncomfortable encounters. Walker sends audiences along with Tara as she seeks acceptance and a way to find herself through a tumultuous and sometimes harrowing journey. As mentioned, the MVP is clearly McKenna-Bruce, who is absolutely brilliant. The film requires her to put herself in very difficult positions, all the while maintaining a balance of funny charm, genuine nervousness, and fear. Her ability to go from a beam of light to drowning is shocking and brilliant to witness. 

An emotional whirlwind of self-discovery, How to Have Sex is bolstered by a strong set of performances and great pacing and atmospheric tension injected throughout the directorial debut of Molly Manning Walker. The film is not afraid to take risks, and it surely isn’t afraid to put audiences face-to-face with discomfort. Raw and messy, it is anchored by its strong themes of friendship and the general insecurity that comes with coming-of-age. Its ending could have tied a nicer bow on an otherwise great film overall, but nonetheless it’s a must see for all those who yearn for a different kind of coming-of-age offering. 

*still courtesy of MUBI*

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Brennan Dubé

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