What’s a 365 party girl to do when the party’s over? In her newly released A24 film, “The Moment,” pop singer Charli xcx recons with the pressures to maintain her cool-girl status as the album-turned-cultural-phenomenon Brat comes to a close.
Directed by Aidan Zamiri, the mockumentary is a satirical take on the conventions of pop stardom. It follows Charli as a heightened version of herself, preparing for her arena tour debut while navigating the complexities of fame.
Immediately, “The Moment” taps into Charli’s rave culture and dance-pop aesthetics. Its opening scene drops us into what feels like a Charli xcx music video, with the pop star dancing under strobe lights in a dark room to her track “365 featuring shygirl.” Though grounded in a linear narrative, the film contains avant-garde elements, including rapid montage editing and dreamlike, surrealist cinematography, supported by a hyperpop, experimental soundtrack from Charli’s close collaborator, A.G. Cook.
Like any other Charli xcx project, the mockumentary is not without its influencer and celebrity cameos; from the internet’s favorite voices in music criticism—including YouTube’s Anthony Fantano (theneedledrop) and Zachary Hourihane (The Swiftologist)—to Charli’s fellow it girls, Rachel Sennott and Julia Fox (both recurring characters in the Brat cinematic universe). These appearances provide context for Charli’s impact on pop culture, bringing the party girl into the mainstream. And then, of course, there’s Kylie Jenner, making her acting debut playing a fictionalized version of herself. Her character unexpectedly crosses paths with Charli while on vacation at a spa in Ibiza. For Charli, the run-in could not have come at a worse time, as her frizzy hair and red, blotchy skin sit opposite Kylie’s perfect, bombshell curls and fresh face. Here, Kylie offers Charli advice on navigating the entertainment industry, and their juxtaposition—with Charli moments away from a downward spiral—speaks to the pop star’s battle to keep up with the industry’s beauty standards.
The film remains at its best when complete chaos ensues, capturing the friction between Charli as an artist and the institutions that seek to profit from her artistry. Atlantic Records, Charli’s record label in the mockumentary—helmed by Rosanna Arquette’s Tammy Pitman—is so out of touch with Charli’s audience, it’s hilarious, and Charli’s tour manager—Jamie Demetriou’s Tim Potts—is so without a backbone to vouch for Charli’s creative freedom, it’s sad. Add the conflict between pretentious concert filmmaker Johannes Godwin—played by Alexander Skarsgård—and Charli’s close friend and creative director, Celeste—played by Hailey Gates—and it’s no wonder Charli can’t seem to figure out what she wants.
Others involved in Charli’s camp further add fuel to the fire as she struggles to accept the inevitable conclusion of Brat. This includes a scene in which Charli’s costume designer mentions resuming his honeymoon after the Brat Tour ends, ultimately sending Charli into a defensive, survival mode at the thought of living in a post-Brat era. In terms of the costuming itself, Charli’s style reinforces her pop star persona even when she’s not onstage. For example, her off-duty looks often feature a green garment, whether it’s an olive wool scarf or a chartreuse tank top, nodding to the official Brat green characterizing the album cycle. These outfits are then topped off with Charli’s signature: a pair of black sunglasses.
Now, what’s most interesting about the film is that it doesn’t necessarily portray Charli as likable. Traditionally, a music documentary grounds itself in an artist’s personal struggles with fame in a relatively positive light, hinging on the passion that drives them and their work. However, as a mockumentary, “The Moment” subverts these expectations, offering a more complex portrayal of Charli as a desperate pop star willing to compromise her authenticity and creative vision to pursue coolness and commerciality. This framing is further complicated when put in conversation with Charli’s December 2025 Substack essay, “The Death of Cool,” in which the singer-songwriter discusses her deep-rooted fear of being boring. That is to say, the film’s impact on audiences is somewhat contingent on their having this context regarding Charli’s rise to fame and the lore of Brat Summer as a whole.
Nevertheless, the film stands as a strong meta-critique of Charli’s relationship to pop stardom. This sentiment culminates in the mockumentary’s final scene: a trailer for the Brat Tour concert film, directed by Godwin without Celeste’s original creative input. Moreover, with Godwin’s rebrand of the tour for mass audience appeal—from the backup dancers in sparkly costumes to the chair choreography and Charli’s theatrical stage presence—one cannot help but draw comparisons to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which adds another layer of complexity, considering the pop stars’ alleged feud.
Overall, “The Moment” accomplishes precisely what it sets out to, revealing that even the coolest of cool girls aren’t immune to feeling the need to reinvent themselves to maintain commercial success and cultural relevance.
Featured Photo Credit: Henry Redcliffe | A24
Photos From “The Moment” Premiere at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, California
Photo Credit: Amelia Cordischi
Taylor Graham is a student at Columbia University, majoring in Film and Media Studies with a minor in Political Science. She has reported for numerous publications, including the Valencia Voice, Glitter Magazine, and Heritage Radio Network, and is currently the 150th Arts and Culture Editor for the Columbia Daily Spectator, one of the oldest college newspapers in the nation. With a passion for storytelling in the digital age, Taylor covers all things entertainment, from film and television to media and pop culture, interviewing professional actors, musicians, and content creators alike. When she’s not writing her next film review or feature story on an emerging artist, Taylor can be found playing tennis, reading literary fiction, or thrift shopping in NYC.