‘The Moment’ Review: Charli XCX’s Witty, Incomplete Brat Summer
The Moment takes a satirical angle in a new mockumentary about Charli XCX’s success around the release of her album Brat. It’s a meta dissection of the process of becoming a pop icon overnight, with an interesting balance of humor and authenticity.
None of us can fully understand the overwhelming insecurities of trying to maintain an image while making quick decisions with a team of people who each have their own agendas. While The Moment isn’t a perfect encapsulation of what fame feels like, it’s an admirable and witty attempt to show how the storm can feel when fame is blowing its heavy winds around a figure.
The film is directed by Aidan Zamiri, who previously worked on music videos like Charli XCX’s “360.” The movie also features cameos from the video, including Rachel Sennott and Kylie Jenner. The film was written by Zamiri with another screenplay credit for Bertie Brandes and was based on a story by Charli XCX.
In the mockumentary, the story centers on her as an artist in the aftermath of the “Brat” movement. The approach is said to be from the Spinal Tap standpoint, but it more often feels in the vein of The Office. There’s lots of random camera zooms and filmed moments that come off more staged than organic, like a real documentary.
Aidan Zamiri satires Charli XCX’s “Brat Summer”
In our first moments with Charli XCX, her management, the label, and entourage are planning the next phase of “Brat Summer.” As one of her label workers exclaims about making Brat Summer “last forever.” One of these decisions involves making a “Brat” credit card for only members of the LGBTQ community, to which Charli XCX humorously questions how they would know if the applicants are actually straight. A question that no one in her team clearly thought through.
The other idea involves hiring an overly pretentious director, Johannes Godwin (Alexander Skarsgård), to helm a Brat concert film for Amazon.
The mockumentary then takes us down a winding road of push-and-pull between what Charli XCX wants for her brand and the many chefs in the corporate kitchen. For example, there’s a creative clash between Johannes and her frequent concert collaborator, Celeste (Hailey Gates), over strobe lights in the show and vulgarity. Johannes wants to play it safe to attract a bigger audience. Celeste points out that the song is about drugs. And Charli XCX continues to spiral into mayhem as she is caught in the middle of all these creative forces.
Skarsgård is one of the best additions to The Moment, giving an incredibly hilarious performance as a filmmaker oozing with self-indulgence. While some comedic moments did not land, almost every scene with Skarsgård had the audience in hysterics.
While the mockumentary lacks the impact of some A24 titles, the direction is surprisingly stylish given the chosen aesthetic. In the ’90s and ’00s, it was common practice for music video directors to eventually crossover. Filmmakers like McG, David Fincher, Francis Lawrence, and Michael Bay began their careers in music videos.
Aidan Zamiri demonstrates why the music video director to studio filmmaker was more of a feature than a bug. The vision for music videos typically requires every shot to feel expensive, and numerous moments in The Moment do.
The edit adds to the larger-than-life Charli XCX persona, as each location transition is greeted with glitchy, strobe-like text. The MTV-style editing may annoy some viewers, but given what the film aims for, it fits the film’s style. The only nitpick about approaching the mockumentary this way is that it feels more like a scripted movie than an organic documentary.
Charli XCX’s film entertains but feels incomplete
The Moment’s largest downfall is the sense that the overall experience feels incomplete. For most of the film, the script builds to this monumental moment when Charli XCX takes the stage for a career-defining concert that serves as the exclamation mark at the end of her Brat era.
As the movie approaches its climax, it abruptly ends. The chosen ending is funny, but it leaves everything leading up to it without proper closure.
That aside, the film is undoubtedly entertaining with some frequently strong bits of humor. Charli XCX handles comedic timing well, showing that she is unafraid to be self-deprecating or to appear ridiculous at times.
At the same time, there is an undercurrent of genuine drama floating through these sequences. Almost to suggest that, in some form, whether exaggerated or not, the details are authentic to how she feels in the limelight.
There is a moment in the film when Charli XCX is facing public backlash, and we see her slowly wiping off her makeup and lipstick. She removes the hair extensions and facial glitter, and she is fully herself, vulnerable, and without the glam. The scene itself is a beautiful metaphor for what she hopes to accomplish with the film. It might be an exaggerated truth, but this could be her best attempt at public vulnerability.
The Moment may not land on its feet, but there are enough elements to satisfy the Charli XCX brand. The music throughout bumps with superb bass popping frequency. As someone not overly familiar with her music, I admit that the hyperpop-industrial approach to her sound had me researching a few of her tracks. And for a mockumentary, it’s a very well-photographed experience. For all these reasons, I would call the film a win for the creator of “Brat Summer.”
Also check out Lady Gaga Burns the (Opera) House Down with The Mayhem Ball Tour
