Review: Charli XCX sells out Brat Summer in ‘The Moment’
2026 / Dir. Aidan Zamiri
Rating: 3/5
Watch if you like: A blend of Josie and the Pussycats and Uncut Gems for people who watch four-hour pop conspiracy YouTube videos.
Do you remember Brat Summer, the 2024 cultural phenomenon centered on British dance-pop singer Charli XCX’s album brat? (No? Then take a look at our 2026 Sundance Film Festival coverage instead.) Those sure were simpler times, but, hey, I guess Kamala wasn’t brat after all.
In Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment, Charli XCX plays a version of herself worried that now that she’s finally found grade-A popstar fame, she has to cling to it at all costs. She lets herself fall prey to a label (led by Rosanna Arquette and a legion of spineless yes men) more than willing to bleed whatever dollars are left out of her with inane promotions like a brat credit card for weird queer kids and an overly sanitized Amazon Prime concert movie, which people who care about a pop star’s “lore” will see as a commentary on the Eras-tour style concert films that have been en vogue recently.
While there are quite a few funny moments and scenarios in The Moment, this is a project that’s conceptually more interesting to think about than to watch as a movie; a couple of days later, I’m still not totally sure how I feel about it. I’m not sure how fans will react either. There’s next to no performance footage, not a whole lot happens, and the movie sidelines Charli XCX quite a bit in favor of undeveloped industry figures and Alexander Skarsgård, who effectively steals the show.
Skarsgård plays Johannes—whose name is pronounced differently every time it’s uttered—an utterly ridiculous concert-film director known for creating commercial drivel but who acts like the second coming. His whole vibe is reminiscent of those “hip” celebrity youth pastors that people like Justin Bieber turn to after years of excess who turn out to be scumbags. While watching Johannes battle Charli’s fictitious creative director (Hailey Benton Gates) isn’t particularly interesting, Skarsgård is so committed to this utterly ridiculous character that he draws your eye no matter what’s happening.
It’s a shame Charli XCX isn’t as much of a focal point because she is a highlight when she’s separated from all the label meddling and commercial commentary. A middle section in which she absconds to an Ibiza resort and has a run-in with an inhumanly perfect Kylie Jenner at her lowest point is a standout sequence, along with a critical turning point for an artist caught between artistic integrity and commercial success. Other quick cameos with the likes of Rachel Sennott, Julie Fox, and Anthony Fantano make you wish there was an alternate version of this movie where the creative team went for something more like Lil Dicky’s show Dave than a brat version of a Succession episode.
While I suspect The Moment may seem more impressive looking back at it in a couple of years, for now I wish its narrative had a bit more substance or leaned in a more outrageous direction. As it stands, Charli XCX’s mockumentary has clever ideas and cameos, and skewers the current state of the pop industry in a way that’s certainly truer to the spirit of her “brand” than another dime-a-dozen sanitized tour documentary. And with a new generation of artistically focused popstars like Chappell Roan, The Moment may open the door for a new era of innovative pop products.