Amongst a sea of lime green and black, I watched Charli XCX’s “The Moment” in theaters. Almost two years out from the release of “Brat,” the singer’s momentum remained strong as she explored new forms of media. Throughout the film, Charli XCX recontextualizes her role in the “Brat” album cycle and offers insightful metacommentary on the importance of authenticity and adaptation as an artist.
“The Moment” is a satirical mockumentary inspired by the stadium tour that followed “Brat.” The fictional version of Charli, catapulted back into the limelight after the album’s success, is stuck at a crossroads. Will she stick with her club-inspired, optically off-putting vision for the tour, or succumb to the input of her record label and seek palatability at the cost of her artistic integrity?
If “The Moment” is about Charli XCX battling the woes of viral success, it begs the question: Wasn’t “Brat” pretty mainstream already? After the album’s release, we entered a “Brat Summer,” presidential nominee Kamala Harris was deemed “Brat” and the album cover’s distinctive lime green was everywhere. Clearly, “Brat” achieved cultural relevance, but “The Moment” makes clear that what got it there was the singer’s commitment to her vision. The album was popular not in spite of its rough-around-the-edges aesthetic, but because of it.
The film asks the audience to think about the steps Charli took that rocketed her to fame. Both the album’s highly successful “Sweat” and “Brat” tours carefully cultivated a dance club experience that the film’s Charli considers pivoting away from. Real-life Charli wasn’t worried about sticking solely to “Brat” like her movie counterpart. By putting out a remix album, “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” later in 2024, Charli was able to reflect on her sudden success while shifting the “Brat” momentum to other projects.
Charli’s new film does the same, reflecting on the struggles an artist faces in an industry largely driven by financial decisions. Rather than going with a tried-and-true traditional tour movie as she considers in the film, real-life Charli took a creative risk and produced a mockumentary instead. It depicts an authentic struggle through an ironic lens. Movie-Charli shuffles between filming different ads, from a fancy hotel to a “gay” credit card, while real Charli did a Super Bowl commercial for Poppi and a controversial H&M clothing collaboration. There is a candidness in her efforts to find a balance between the creative and financial aspects of her career.
“The Moment” also speaks against dragging out success for the sake of relevance. If 2024 was a “Brat Summer,” what happens when summer ends? While movie-Charli wrestles to keep herself in the lime green spotlight, it’s clear the real Charli understands when the party’s over. “The Moment” is the artist’s second major live-action film, and more is on the horizon. Charli XCX is adaptable and understands the importance of pursuing projects that align with her artistic vision.
Charli is the one who came up with the idea behind “The Moment,” and the film is clearly filled with her influence both on- and off-screen. The film is directed by Aidan Zamiri, who also directed the “360” music video. The score is her long-time collaborator, A.G. Cook. At first glance, this might have seemed risky — “The Moment” is both of their first entries into the film industry. By bringing people who understand her ideas up with her, Charli effectively quiets the industry voices who might seek to change her and kill the “Brat” ethos.
There’s another world where the “Brat” we got was diluted to fit a record label’s vision instead of Charli’s, but I feel lucky that isn’t the case here. Although “The Moment” is not a perfect film, it is an interesting, creative reflection on what it means to be a popular artist. Charli XCX welcomes change, and because her choices are authentic, fans continue to show up and support long after the initial summer of success.
*This column was updated Feb. 18, 2026.
