The Moment

It’s an XCX World, and we’re all just living in it. As a fan of Charli xcx for over a decade, I am well aware that just two years ago, that would have simply been a niche reference to the leaked unreleased project by the British electronic pop musician. Just two years ago, Charli xcx was popular enough within music circles and online communities, but played 2000-capacity venues and made the type of music and collaborated with artists that were just too weird to make it outside of select circles.

Enter the inescapable Brat Summer. You heard the songs on TikTok, saw the now iconic lime green color everywhere, laughed at the memes. It was the first time that Charli xcx was being celebrated for her iconoclasm and experimentation instead of just being known as the “Boom Clap” girl. 

At some point in The Moment—the newest experiment by Charli, where she plays herself in a mockumentary about her own first arena tour—she has a breakdown about how when she made Brat nobody cared. She was free to make exactly what she wanted, however weird it may be. But now that she was no longer an open secret on Gay Twitter, now that somehow everyone knew what Brat was, the label had ideas for who she should be and what she should do. It is in this moment that The Moment clicks; it is not just a victory lap of Charli’s unprecedented success, nor a satire about being an artist, but a highly inspired and deeply necessary critique of the entire system surrounding pop music. Once you get just enough attention, even your sincerity becomes manufactured by industry. 

Of course, no film is good solely because of its thesis statement. But The Moment succeeds because of how sincere its attempt to combat insincerity is. Charli (Charlotte Aitchison in real life) may have an easy job on paper by playing herself in a story she created with her friends, but her performance requires her to be genuinely vulnerable and display sides of herself that the public has not gotten to see yet. The people know 365 Partygirl Charli. They don’t know the Charli that hurts herself while breaking down and wants no part in any of the brand endorsements she’s forced to. As an actor, it is her job to successfully convey the emotions of her character, but it is especially impressive that she can authentically portray herself even during ridiculous situations. 

Playing herself also adds gravity to the film’s message. We have seen many a film about the difficulties of being a pop star, but those were either movies about fictional characters or biopics made decades after the musician’s stardom with no real input from the person who actually experienced it. Meanwhile, The Moment comes directly from Charli. It is a genuine reflection of her own lived experience and a cry for change. 

However, Charli’s sincerity and bravery alone cannot make a great film. Thankfully, she is supported by an incredibly funny ensemble and a quite sharp script by herself, Aidan Zamiri, and Bertie Brands. Every character, even if small, manages to feel like a real person, land a number of punchlines, and embody some form of commentary about the industry. The standout in the supporting cast goes to everyone’s favorite freak Alexander Skarsgard, as the industry standard of concert film directors. He is insane, deeply devoted to ensuring everything is “child-friendly” for Amazon, and absolutely hilarious. It is the perfect role for him, making good use of the actor’s capacity for cattiness and evilness. 

Charli’s cinephile genes have really paid off, because she avoided what could have easily been an awkward attempt to conquer the world of cinema (hello, Hurry Up Tomorrow), by truly understanding the fundamentals of making a great movie. Photographer turned first-time director Aidan Zamiri has a very strong grasp on creating tension, with scenes towards the later end of the film—even when the plot gets a little too over-the-top and ruins some of the realism that made it so great—that make you feel like you’re watching Charli Supreme or Uncut Brat. It certainly helps here that criminally underrated cinematography of Good Time Sean Price Williams shot the film, drenching it in beautiful neon lighting and soft grains. 

Yes, The Moment is a movie made for Stan Twitter. You will not understand this film’s humor if you’re not up to date on the latest Charli memes. It also has a Howard Sterling subplot that would be funny if the film was fully unserious but resolves in a way that feels inauthentic to the gritty realism of the film. Yet this film’s glorious ending, which directly mocks the concert film put out by a certain blonde megastar, is the most I have laughed in a theater in a while, and that has to count for something. Even if the label may have robbed her of some of her agency when promoting her album, The Moment is pure, unfiltered Charli xcx. It is shady, vulnerable, and the epitome of Brat. 

8.5/10