‘The Moment’ Review: Brat Summer Is A Neverending Nightmare For Charli XCX In Meta Mockumentary

As Charli XCX debuts her hotly-anticipated film The Moment at Sundance Film Festival, the Aidan Zamiri-helmed mockumentary is finally marking the end of an era, more than a year after brat summer. The pic repped something of a Charli XCX double-feature tonight following the Gregg Araki directed I Want Your Sex at the Eccles Theatre here in Park City, UT.

Playing a fictionalized version of herself, A24’s The Moment follows Charli as a pop star embarking on her first arena tour amid the massive success of her new album, which breeds a monster that the artist can no longer control.

“It’s become a bit cringe,” she and her team agree early in the film of the ongoing bratmania, which she struggles to let go of in her journey with fame.

Charli delivers a heightened, dynamic performance as a young woman grappling with the absurdity of fame and the loss of her creative freedom, something only protected by her trusted friend and tour creative director Collette (Hailey Gates).

Their creative harmony when her label brings in toxic concert film director Johannes (Alexander Skarsgård), a role that seems custom fit for the Swedish actor, who takes up all the oxygen in the room with an effortless chauvinism.

A star-studded roster includes some ‘It’ girls of years gone by, including Rosanna Arquette, Kylie Jenner, Rachel Sennott, Julia Fox and more. The ensemble also includes Isaac Powell, Rish Shah, Kate Berlant and more.

A time capsule of 2024, that brief moment of optimism in which the world was painted brat green, Charli opted for this meta satire, as opposed to churning another concert film out into the world. What fans got is a spiritual sequel to Spice World as a psychological thriller, and I don’t think any of them will complain.

Longtime collaborator A.G. Cook provided the music for The Moment, including the recently released singles ‘Dread’ and ‘Offscreen’, adding an emotional tinge to her already visceral music.

Having conceived the idea for The Moment as an outlet for her experience with fame while on her own Brat tour, Zamiri and co-writer Bertie Brandes brought her vision to life with a heartfelt peek behind the curtain of one of today’s biggest stars.

Producers are Charli XCX and David Hinojosa.