The venerable Cannes Film Festival red carpet has rules both spoken and unspoken. Black-tie is required at night. Flats are now finally tolerated. Men must wear sober tuxedo jackets. (I witnessed one gentleman turned away because his had an intricate design; he proudly and admirably declined the security monitors’ suggestion to turn it inside out.) Ushers will sweep you along if you shamelessly pose for photos and photographers aren’t interested (happens much more than you think).
Whether dancing is acceptable is unclear. But the young cast of the British film How to Have Sex surely challenged decorum last May when they shimmied and bounced down the hallowed pass in tuxes and gowns to the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize.” They were already a rather unorthodox sight for the famously buttoned-up festival—none of them yet 30, including first-time feature writer-director Molly Manning Walker, goofily gyrating harder than anyone. And yet, laughing and mugging, they were obviously having more fun than anyone who graced the carpet the entire festival.
That included lead actor Mia McKenna-Bruce, giggling in a floaty magenta-and-scarlet Carolina Herrera confection with a full train and precipitous platform heels—a look that nearly obscured that she was six months pregnant. The moment demonstrated that the 26-year-old is not only committed but gutsy.
This is also proven in the film itself, which won the festival’s top Un Certain Regard prize. In it, McKenna-Bruce capitalizes on her youthful mien and diminutive stature to play 16-year-old Tara, who joins two friends for a raucous post-exams getaway at a Greek party resort where she hopes to have sex for the very first time. Her friends join in this mission, cavorting in flimsy dresses and neon glow bracelets through sweaty clubs, sticky bars, and cramped hotel-room parties (all masterfully evoked by Walker, a cinematographer by training who’s worked on films like last year’s Scrapper). But when the boys in the adjacent room catch their eye, difficult issues of consent, peer pressure, and friendship come to the fore.
McKenna-Bruce, who’s worked on British stage and screen since she was a child, formidably navigates the shift from indefatigable-party-girl antics to solemn contemplation and quiet regret. She won best lead performance at the British Independent Film Awards in December and is up for a BAFTA Rising Star Award this month against the likes of awards-season darlings Jacob Elordi and Ayo Edebiri.
She beams now, thinking back to Cannes. “At our first photo-call in the morning, we were all super rigid and nervous,” the naturally effervescent actor tells Vogue from her home in Kent, an hour southeast of London. “Before the red carpet, we were just like, ‘Let’s absolutely live it up ’cause this is just incredible.’”
McKenna-Bruce recently spoke with Vogue about how Tara’s uncomfortable clothes helped her get into character, what it’s been like to be a new mom amid all the acclaim, and the many crucial conversations the film has already provoked.
Vogue: Some might not be familiar with this British rite-of-passage trip. How would you describe it?
Mia McKenna-Bruce: It’s similar to spring break in the US. In the UK, once you finish your exams, around age 17 or 18, you go on this holiday with your friends to Greece, Spain, or Portugal. Everyone gets super excited about it—it seems like this be-all and end-all. When I was at school, it wasn’t if you were going on these holidays—it was where you were going. Maybe it’s your first holiday without your parents, so you feel super grown-up. You’re drinking a lot because you’re 18 and it’s the first time you’re allowed to drink. People don’t tend to know their limits.
What was your trip like?
I went to Ibiza, thinking we were being a bit bougie about it. But there is a strip on Ibiza without the super clubs, so it’s the same as any strip anywhere, really. You go out, you go to bed at God knows what time in the morning, you get up ready to go again, have some chips, and go. It’s relentless partying. Molly based the story on real-life holiday experiences and crazy things she saw.
So what drew you to this film, and how would you describe your character?
I have a 16-year-old sister, and I want her to see this. I can make sure she watches it if I’m in it. [Laughs.] It’s a film I would have loved to have watched at that age.
Tara is desperate to live up to the expectations other people have of her. She presents as the life and soul of the party, being able to talk her way out of anything. She has this really fun energy all the time. But she feels like, even when she’s suffering, she has to continue to put that out there because that’s what people want from her. We see her go through this journey of struggling to deal with her emotions and put into words how she’s actually feeling.
You’ve said you see yourself reflected in Tara. How so?
Living up to those expectations and being desperate to please people. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time away from school because of acting. I spent six months of the year working and then six months at school. So to catch up with everyone in school, I was very much a yes person and the class clown. I saw that in Tara, and that resonated with me.
And did the costumes help you get into character?
George Buxton, the costume designer, wanted to make sure the costumes were from high-street stores so they felt familiar to us and those watching the film. You see Tara’s costume shift as she’s trying to impress. She borrows [her more experienced best friend] Skye’s clothes that are quite ill-fitting and uncomfortable on me. That helped me get into where Tara was at: If she’s wearing Skye’s clothes, she’s trying to be someone she’s not. I remember wearing similar things—bikinis with something see-through over, things that I would never wear in everyday life. We used TikTok to see how girls that age style their hair on holiday now and what young people on these holidays were up to today, to make it feel current.
How was Molly Manning Walker as a director?
We did group activities every week—playing football, music nights, poker nights—to make sure the cast and crew had this genuine connection. Such a big part of the project was everyone trusting each other and, particularly for me, being able to be super vulnerable and feel comfortable. I completely did because I knew everyone really well. Everyone was buzzing to be there every day because we all cared about what we were doing and loved Molly so much. She gave me this self-belief because she had so much belief in me. It was the first time on set that I wasn’t scared to get things wrong or put forward my ideas.
And you worked with an intimacy coordinator.
All the sex scenes were choreographed, so they were as easy as could possibly be. They were the only scenes throughout the whole film where we knew exactly what we were doing. Everything else was more of a free-flowing energy.
The film was released in the UK in November. What have the reactions been?
A lot of men have said they see themselves in the male characters and realize they’ve got to step up and check themselves and have conversations with their friends. It’s bittersweet too because you realize how common this behavior is. Hopefully the film breeds more positive sexual experiences for people.
In the middle of all this, you had a baby in August.
It feels like I’ve been living two of my dreams in one go: I’m getting to play mum and doing this exciting press run. If someone said to me this time last year, “You’ll be super busy with the film and also have a baby,” I’d be like, “You’re mental.” I went back to doing press six weeks after I had him. For me it worked perfectly because this is what I love doing.
How to Have Sex is in New York theaters now. It opens in LA on February 9, followed by more cities.
