Charli XCX Will Always Be One of the It Girls with Her Debut Film “The Moment”

Brat summer then, brat summer now, brat summer forever 🍏

The Moment premiere screening was a sea of miniskirts, knee-high boots, oversized sunglasses and an overwhelming aura of confidence.

The theatre was doused in a sea of brat green lights with projections of some of Charli XCX’s Brat music videos on the wall.

But enough about the movie theatre, let’s get into the actual movie.

The Moment (2026)

Everything you need to know about the film.

If you haven’t heard all about it, The Moment is a mockumentary style movie that follows Charli XCX finding any way to keep the era of brat summer alive while feeling increasing pressure from her record label and management to stay on top.

It’s self-aware, fun and surprisingly hilarious with standout performances from almost all of the cast.

Charli XCX plays herself in The Moment.

Charli plays an alternate, more insecure version of herself that does everything to appease to everyone in her life from her assistants (Trew Mullen and Isaac Powell), her nerve-riddled middle manager (Jamie Demetriou), the money-hungry record label people (Rish Shah) and her record label boss (Rosanna Arquette).

One of my favourite characters was Johannes Godwin played by Alexander Skarsgård, a clueless director who consistently tries to push for a more family (and profit) friendly version of Brat.

We also get cameos from some iconic faces like Rachel Sennott and Kylie Jenner.

Themes of capitalism and over-content-sation.

Amidst the chaotic editing and flashy transitions, we see the effect of what constant pressure from the music industry does to artistic integrity.

Charli is stressed, frantic and feels like she’s being pulled in ten different directions.

She’s doing ‘what’s in my bag videos’ for Vogue without actually knowing what’s in her bag and we get a short montage of all the moments in the film when Brat green or a reference to Brat is used for some kind of advertising.

It feels very self-aware given just how many brands jumped on the Brat summer trend of 2024 and quickly ran it into the ground.

While there are a lot of funny scenes, the film feels strongest in the quieter and more vulnerable moments when we’re watching Charli deal with the pressure coming in from so many sides.

It really makes you think about how far artists are willing to take such personal projects to make money.

Final thoughts.

The Moment does tend to struggle a little bit with answering some questions like ‘what you have to sacrifice to please everyone in the music industry?’

Does it just become about pleasing those above you to ensure everyone gets paid? Or is it about putting out authentic music and not falling into the trap of constantly trying to be cool?

Maybe we should all spend more time with the music that artists have already made (Brat was only released in mid 2024, were we all too quick to move on or did brands ruin it by drenching everything in lime green on their Instagrams?) before we lunge at the next big trend.

There is also a lot to be said about the soundtrack from A.G. Cook (an artist who has continuously worked with Charli, including a collaboration on her Brat remix album) and the outstanding direction from Aidan Zamiri that keeps you hooked for the entire runtime.  

Despite some setbacks, this movie truly cements Charli’s cultural impact, ensuring us that Brat summer might not be forever, but we will always remember it.

Overall, The Moment gets a 4/5 stars from me. It's cemented Charli's cool girl aesthetic in a way that is both fun to watch and makes you take a beat to reflect on the way we consume music.