Charli XCX, the British pop sensation who dominated the cultural conversation in 2024 with her album Brat, is officially closing the chapter on that era. The album, with its striking lime-green cover, sparked a global phenomenon dubbed “brat summer,” even infiltrating the visual aesthetics of Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign. Now, nearly two years later, the 33-year-old artist is marking a new direction with her foray into film, The Moment.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month and was presented by Charli XCX herself at the Berlinale this weekend. “Of course, it depends on the world, but as far as I’m concerned, brat summer is over,” she told reporters, addressing whether she intends to continue exploring the intersection of music and the informal fashion movement. “As they say in the film: you can’t worry about how it ends when it’s already happened,” she added. The Moment is a mockumentary, a genre that presents fictional events as real, and features Charli XCX playing a heightened version of herself – a pop star preparing for her first tour while navigating the pressures of fame and the music industry.
From Alternative Darling to Global Icon
Much like the real Charli XCX, who initially built a reputation as an alternative artist, her on-screen persona begins with a dedicated fanbase before unexpectedly achieving worldwide recognition. The film portrays her making career choices that diverge from the advice of her record label. “The scenarios we present in the film aren’t real,” XCX explained at the Berlinale, “But they could be under different circumstances. I’ve come close to those circumstances myself over the years in the music industry.”
The Moment boasts a star-studded cast alongside Charli XCX, including Alexander Skarsgård as an overbearing director sent by the studio to film her concert, Kylie Jenner, known for Keeping Up with the Kardashians, model Julia Fox, and actress and comedian Rachel Sennott. All play fictionalized versions of themselves. The film is directed by Aidan Zamiri, marking his feature film debut. Charli XCX described the filming process as cathartic, allowing her to process frustrations she’d experienced in her own career. “We were very interested in the question of the longevity of artwork, the tension that comes with occupying a cultural space for longer than you’re supposed to,” she noted.
Critical Reception and a Shift in Focus
Initial reactions to The Moment at Sundance were mixed. However, ahead of the Berlin premiere at the luxurious Zoo Palast cinema, fans braved the cold for hours, hoping to catch a glimpse of the artist. The Guardian awarded the film three out of five stars, praising its ideas and visual style but finding it strangely empty and requiring a strong understanding of the “brat summer” phenomenon. The review similarly noted that Charli XCX’s performance sometimes resembled “a stammering, nervous student mechanically reciting her lines and trying to break free from her established persona.” The Guardian
Conversely, Pitchfork offered a more positive assessment, describing the film as a blend of celebrity-filled thriller, reality show, and pop documentary. “I’ve seen her twice on tour for the album Brat, and the concert scenes in the film are as great as they were live,” the reviewer wrote. However, Pitchfork emphasized that the film is primarily a satire of the music industry and how it’s structured around money and video content. “The film is smarter than it looks, and far more ambitious than most pop documentaries. I don’t grasp how we went so long without a female pop satire,” they concluded. Pitchfork
Charli XCX’s creative focus is expanding beyond music this year. She has already contributed the soundtrack to the new adaptation of Wuthering Heights, currently screening in Czech cinemas. In addition to The Moment, she is also appearing in three other upcoming films: The Gallerist, I Want Your Sex, and Faces of Death.
What’s Next for Charli XCX?
With The Moment, Charli XCX appears to be deliberately drawing a line under the “brat summer” era, while simultaneously launching a new chapter in her career. Her move into film signals a willingness to explore different creative avenues and to engage with the industry from a new perspective. As she navigates this transition, it will be interesting to see how her experiences as a musician inform her work as an actress and filmmaker. The success of The Moment, and her continued involvement in film projects, will undoubtedly shape her artistic trajectory in the years to come.
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