Mini review: The Moment

In The Moment, Charli xcx plays an alternate version of herself plagued by fear of failure, but sadly, and ironically, the Aidan Zamiri mockumentary falls flat.   

The jumpy, handheld documentary style doesn’t help at all

The premise is interesting: a glimpse at a reality where ‘brat summer’ fizzled out at the end of 2024 instead of lasting beyond its designated season. However, the satire sticks too closely to the Charli xcx persona we know already and fails to stray far enough from reality.  

The jumpy, handheld documentary style doesn’t help at all. It becomes quite easy to forget that what you’re watching didn’t actually happen.  

Parts of the film are charming. Alexander Skarsgård, for example, delivers an infuriatingly detestable performance as a creative director obsessed with garish sparkles and intent on making an unoffensive ‘story’ out of music which is, at the end of the day, “about cocaine”.  

But it all begs the question – who is this for?  

A cameo from Kylie Jenner (as herself) and countless pop-culture references will keep any Charli xcx fan happy for the (almost) two-hour runtime, and A.G Cook’s brat-esque score unfortunately keeps everyone else awake too. 

Charli xcx has delivered the ultimate vanity project, it’s just veiled by a troublingly thin layer of faux self-awareness.  

★★⯪☆☆