Brat summer is officially over. Or at least that is the impression given by “The Moment,” a mockumentary that feels like the final punctuation mark on what has been a generational album and viral cultural takeover that catapulted pop star Charli xcx from niche acclaim to full-blown superstardom. Last year, Charli posted a TikTok reflecting on how difficult it was to let go of Brat and how completely it consumed her identity and daily life. She even floated the idea of deliberately letting a moment overstay its welcome just to see how far it could be pushed. That tension between artistic authenticity and calculated excess becomes the central thesis of her first serious foray into filmmaking and acting. Like the pop star at its center, “The Moment” is chaotic, messy, self-aware, and occasionally exhausting, yet undeniably ambitious.
Brat was a cultural time capsule. A meme, a movement, a marketing juggernaut that seeped into everything from presidential campaigns to Webster’s word of the year. But every cultural high has a shelf life, and “The Moment” positions itself as a cinematic bookend to the phenomenon. The film follows Charli as she attempts to transform her Brat tour into the definitive apex of her viral reign while quietly wrestling with the fear that the wave could crest at any second.
Conceived by Charli and written alongside collaborators Aidan Zamiri and Bertie Brandes, “The Moment” opens with a visually frenzied portrait of an artist locked in a tug-of-war with an industry machine desperate to sand down her edges and reshape her into a broader, safer pop commodity. The film leans heavily into inside jokes and deep-cut references from Charli’s inner circle, which can make it feel impenetrable to casual viewers. Even so, there is enough raw chaos and creative anxiety on display to make the story compelling beyond its fandom bubble. To her credit, Charli proves a surprisingly capable on-screen presence, leaning into a heightened version of herself while attempting to subvert the conventions of traditional concert films and glossy music documentaries. At its best, the film becomes an anxious meditation on fame and the modern obsession with pop stars as both product and person.
“Popstar” this is not. Nor is it the outright satire of “This is Spinal Tap.” Instead, “The Moment” embraces a darker, more cynical tone, finding humor in absurd industry moments that feel only slightly exaggerated. A running gag involving an attempt to appease the queer community with a Brat-branded credit card escalates into one of the film’s most bizarre narrative swings, and against all odds, it works. Charli plays an anxious and insecure version of herself, surrounded by assistants and handlers desperate to sculpt her image. Chief among them is Johannes Godwin, played by Alexander Skarsgard as a hilariously self-important auteur who treats every idea like a divine revelation. Hired to document the tour for Amazon Music, Johannes constantly clashes with Charli’s instincts, pushing for a sanitized, Disneyfied version of her persona. When he nervously asks, “What if children are watching this?” while the word “Cunt” looms on a wall behind her, the film briefly achieves the sharp satire it so often threatens but rarely sustains.
The supporting ensemble adds texture, even when the characters verge on caricature. Jamie Demetriou plays an airless middle manager drowning in corporate jargon, while Rish Shah and Rosanna Arquette embody record label executives who see artistry as little more than a branding opportunity. A parade of cameos from Rachel Sennott, Kate Berlant, and Kylie Jenner further amplifies the surreal celebrity ecosystem surrounding Charli, turning the film into a self-aware spectacle about fame feeding on itself.
Still, for a project that prides itself on chaos and rebellion, “The Moment” often feels strangely restrained. It gestures toward deeper commentary on artistic burnout, parasocial fandom, and the commodification of rebellion but rarely digs far enough to leave a lasting bruise. The most compelling scenes emerge when Charli collaborates with her creative director Celeste, played by Hailey Benton Gates. These quieter moments reveal genuine artistic vulnerability and offer a glimpse into the collaborative spark that fuels her creativity. Unfortunately, the film returns too quickly to broader satire that feels safe rather than subversive.
Ultimately, “The Moment” positions itself as a scrappier, anti-establishment counterpoint to polished concert spectacles like The Eras Tour. It reveals a more fragile side of Charli that even longtime fans may not expect, framing her journey as a struggle to maintain artistic integrity in an industry addicted to virality and constant reinvention. The film repeatedly suggests that clinging to a cultural moment for too long risks alienating audiences and eroding the very authenticity that made it resonate in the first place. It is a compelling idea that the film only partially realizes. “The Moment” never fully locks into its rhythm, but it remains an intriguing portrait of an artist wrestling with fame in real time, searching for meaning in a spotlight that refuses to dim.
THE MOMENT is now playing in theaters.