For women of a certain age who grew up being told that if they wore the wrong thing, drank a little too much, or gave the wrong signals that they were 鈥渁sking for it,鈥� it might seem like the youths of today have it good, or at least quite a bit better. Consent seems to matter. Clothing coverage does not. Victims are listened to, sometimes at least.
And yet for all the freedom and exhibitionism and sexual liberation that might be projected on social media, teens are still teens and people are still people and things still happen, casually and in quietly catastrophic grey areas. These are truths that are conveyed powerfully in 鈥淗ow to Have Sex,鈥� a stylish, assured and moving that opens in North American theaters on Friday.
is not didactic, however, which is what makes it so effective. It鈥檚 just a story about a girl, Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce) and her two friends, Em (Enva Lewis) and Skye (Lara Peake) on holiday at a party resort in Greece. They鈥檙e looking to drink and dance, wear neon bustiers and bathing suits and complicated mesh coverups and meet some guys. Ideally some 鈥渇it鈥� ones. And it starts out so fun, like a more innocent and realistic 鈥淪pring Breakers.鈥�
Parties on screen rarely feel as fun as they鈥檙e supposed to 鈥� the joy often looks a little forced. But Walker somehow makes you feel like you鈥檙e actually there and kind of loving it, regardless of whether you were the 鈥淢TV Beach House鈥� or 鈥淟ove Island鈥� type, even as a voyeuristic exercise. Much of that energy comes from the three friends, immediately believable as such, charismatic and adorable as they squeal about a very unremarkable hotel room being 鈥渓uxury.鈥�
Some guys enter the picture soon too, just one balcony over (鈥淩omeo, Romeo where is you?鈥� one character coos). Badger (Shaun Thomas), the guy who catcalls Tara, is probably not many girls鈥� idea of a Romeo at least on first sight. His hair is badly bleached 鈥� a kind of '90s boyband look. He鈥檚 got a neck tattoo with a red pout and 鈥淗ot Legends鈥� scrawled underneath it. This is not boyfriend material or even hookup material, right?
And yet there鈥檚 an immediately sweet chemistry between him and Tara, who are both posturing as too-cool party people down for any number of humiliating public spectacles, but probably would just rather spend a night in on the couch with each other. In any event, a flirt-ship is born, but other pressures of youthful wildness abound.
Tara, we come to find, is a virgin. This is something Skye makes her feel self-conscious about while also trying to push her to get rid of on the trip. This rite-of-passage has fueled any number of teen comedies over the years, often from the horny boys鈥� point of view. But the lightheartedness, even in the not-rapey ones, can deny and diminish a reality that its not such a simple thing for either gender.
鈥淗ow to Have Sex鈥� is partly a movie about trust, knowing who to trust and how to trust yourself but also how to regain that after something traumatic like sexual assault. Badger鈥檚 friend Paddy (Samuel Bottomley) does not seem all that different from him, but his vibe is oh so subtly off. Who can discern that at 16 with people you鈥檝e just met? Skye, similarly, seems like she has Tara鈥檚 best interests in mind, but this is also a friendship that she鈥檚 too na茂ve to know is not a healthy one.
There is a hard turning point when things stop being fun in 鈥淗ow to Have Sex,鈥� when one morning Tara is missing from both hotel rooms. Some are concerned. Some are not. One person thinks its funny. She comes back and her night is recreated for the audience, but Tara is changed 鈥� a shell of the vibrant person she was just a few hours prior unsure of what she鈥檚 feeling, if it鈥檚 valid and if anyone would care.
Walker often lets the camera linger on McKenna-Bruce鈥檚 face and eyes that convey all the things she can鈥檛 find the words for. It is a shattering performance and made all the more devastating because it鈥檚 so subtle, without big tears or smashing of mirrors or anything theatrical. Tara just slinks away into a depressive state that barely anyone notices. Her vacation, and life, has turned into a nightmare; Everyone else is still having fun.
鈥淗ow to Have Sex,鈥� a MUBI release in select North American theaters Friday, has not been rated by the Motion Picture Association. Running time: 90 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
