Contains Spoilers
Singer Charli XCX, or Charlotte Emma Aitchison, released her new mockumentary movie on January 30, 2026, directed by Aiden Zamiri. A24 produced the movie. Zamiri has prior experience directing music videos, including Charli XCX’s “360” and “Guess,” as well as Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather.”
The movie follows Charli XCX as she prepares for her upcoming tour. The movie spotlights how Charli XCX is handling the pressure and anxiety from staff, fans, and brands to keep up the “Brat” brand after the success of the 2024 album, “Brat.” As Charli XCX prepares for her upcoming tour for “Brat,” her staff hires a new creative director, Johannes Albert, played by Alexander Skarsgård. Albert completely disregards and neglects Charlie XCX’s themes and attempts to make her performance more family-friendly.
After Charli XCX makes a sponsored post announcing a collaboration with the fictional credit card company, Howard Stirling, the company goes bankrupt. Charli XCX posted exactly what she was told to, but members of her staff still blamed her. Towards the end of the movie, Charli XCX sends a voicemail apology to one of her friends and creative directors, Celeste, played by Hailey Gates. The voicemail includes a monologue from Charli XCX that felt genuine from Charli XCX herself. The message was very articulate, well-spoken, and inspiring.
The message was very moving and powerful, as Charli XCX expressed her own need for validation. She explains how she felt that if enough people liked her, then maybe she would like herself, but she didn’t. Instead of trying to hold on to the Brat brand, she expressed how she knew it would have to end at some point, so she wants to end it now. She felt freer and like she got back a piece of herself after accepting Brat’s ending. I felt like Charli XCX was giving a sincere message about how she was sick of people only knowing her for one thing: “Brat.” She has already had a miraculous career behind her, and she wants to do more with it. “Brat” caused people to disregard her past success and reduce her to a trend.
The movie ends with Charli XCX happily performing on stage. “Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve played during clips of her performance, which was a perfect choice of music for that moment. The song showed her bittersweet feelings toward “Brat” as it exploded her career, bringing her so much happiness and success, while simultaneously causing stress and pressure of being a “popstar.”
“The Moment” has surprisingly received a 63% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.5/10 on IMDb. I would rate “The Moment” a 10/10. For a documentary-type movie, it was really entertaining. I think the movie was a fun and captivating dramatization of Charli XCX’s experiences. Charli XCX was a great actress, as her emotions in the film felt genuine and made the audience feel the way she was feeling. I enjoyed how the directors allowed the movie to be dramatic. One of the most outstanding parts of this film was how immersive the scenes were. Every scene was well-shot and put you in Charlie XCX’s headspace through unique camera shots and coloring. During the scenes when she would feel overwhelmed, anxious, or frustrated, the camera would get close up on the characters and become incredibly shaky, showing the struggle to stay calm and think coherently.
I loved how the text in the film stayed consistent with the “Brat” theme, using bright neon colors and the same font. The movie offered a perfect blend of comedy and serious, realistic moments. For the majority of the film, the dialogue, scenes, and storylines were serious, but the occasional jokes would always land.
The film’s fashion and makeup were both realistic and aesthetically pleasing. Charli XCX’s outfits ranged from bold and glamorous looks suited for the club to casual summer outfits that all felt true to Charli XCX. Some of her most iconic fashion pieces were her rehearsal outfits, which included a black baby tee, a white pleated miniskirt with a loose black belt, and black thigh-high leather boots. Another memorable outfit she wore in the film was during her trip to Ibiza, in which she wore a soft green, cropped tank top and an off-white, flowy maxi skirt. For most of the movie, she wore little to no makeup, which felt refreshingly realistic because she was rehearsing, working, and trying to relax while under a lot of stress.
“The Moment” was an incredibly unique and captivating look at the struggles of celebrity status after a peak moment in someone’s career. I definitely recommend this movie as it stays entertaining, dramatic, and fun the entire run. The movie brings up a conversation about handling demands from brands, fans, and staff. Charli XCX comes to terms with a dilemma over continuing to chase the success of “Brat” or accepting its demise and closing that chapter in her career, knowing she can still experience new opportunities for success.
