I should start off this review by saying that I am not a big Charli XCX fan. Her music is just not my cup of tea. So going into her mockumentary, The Moment, I did not have any personal baggage going into this. All I knew is that this film is a mockumentary about her preparing for her “Brat Tour” after the recording breaking Brat Summer. While The Moment is far from perfect, it is hard to deny how bold and ambitious it was.
In September 2024, at the tail end of the Brat Summer phenomenon and the apex of her fame, British pop artist Charli XCX prepares to begin rehearsals for her area tour debut while still regularly promoting the Brat album. Struggling from the pressure of her record label and her controlling concert film director, Johannes (Alexander Skarsgard), Charlie navigates the complexities of fame and the music industry as she struggles to keep herself together.
The music documentaries about an artist preparing for their tour is one of the most cliched genres in the book. Every single film is exactly the same. Where the artist is struggling with the pressures of the tour but they push through it at the expense of something. Eventually there is a disagreement or a disaster which causes the artist to have an emotional breakdown in the hallway. But, the artist is able to resolve it and pull off a triumphant tour. Charli XCX, a well-known cinephile, knows how cliched this genre is. So rather than diving into the cliches of the preparations of her Brat Tour, her and director Aidan Zamiri decide to flip the genre on its head.
The Moment is not entirely a documentary, nor is it entirely fictitious. The film opens with a disclaimer stating that The Moment is inspired by Charli’s real experience, but names and locations have been altered to protect people’s privacy. Though the film is fictitious, it feels painfully real as every second of The Moment feels like a panic attack. Shot like a documentary, Zamiri immerses you directly into Charli’s chaotic inner world. Cocaine, epileptic-seizers, shouting matches, and second-hand-embarrassment all included.
Charli, who perfectly plays a more deranged version of himself, is clearly spiraling under the weight of her new found fame. She is losing her grip on her own identity. Trapped by her fans and her record label, they insist that she must keep her Brat persona. All she wants is to mount a tour on her own terms, without endless noises and corporate interference. But the label refuses to loosen its grip, pushing her into promotional deals she doesn’t agree with and saddling her with a perverted concert director, Johannes, played hysterically by Alexander Skarsgard. Hijacking her vision, they slowly force her into a cleaner and more marketable version of Charli XCX.
In this spiral, with a dash of dark humor, embarrassment, and pure chaos, The Moment emerges as a surprisingly sharp satire about the cost of fame. It’s a thoughtful reflection of not only Charli’s experience, but on fame as a whole. Defining that fame is a suffocating, high-pressure state of anxiety where everyone is desperately trying to shove you into a neatly marketable box. While the film isn’t as funny as it wants to be, there is no denying its ambition. Especially given that Charli turns her aim not only on the machinery of fame, but on the Brat persona she has created.
Overall, The Moment works best not as a comedy nor a traditional music documentary, but as an anxious, self-aware dismantling of celebrity itself. It’s uneven and often abrasive, but in that roughness you feel the loss of control of Charli’s life and personality. Though it is not an easy watch as you will feel every moment of second-hand-embarrassment, the film is undeniably interesting. A must watch for Charli XCX fans.
My Rating: B
The Moment is now in theaters nationwide.
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