This afternoon, I walked out of The Moment, the new film sparked by an idea from Charli XCX herself, and my brain is still spinning.

Directed by Aidan Zamiri and produced by Charli alongside David Hinojosa, this movie feels like the ultimate love letter (and middle finger) to the pop machine. It’s not just a film; it’s a fever dream that captures the absolute chaos of being a rising star on the brink of arena domination, and Charli’s fingerprints are all over every frame. If you thought Brat was her peak, this proves she’s just getting started.

A Synopsis That Hits Too Close to Home

At its core, The Moment follows a rising pop sensation: think a not quite Charli version of Charli, grappling with the soul-crushing grind of fame as she preps for her big arena tour debut. The industry pressures? They’re relentless: shady managers pushing bad collabs, forced smiles for the wrong influencers, late-night meetings where you nod along just to survive.

It’s all there, heightened to eleven, pulling back the velvet rope on the music biz madness that most fans never see. I felt seen and gutted watching it, like someone finally put words (and Skarsgård-level intensity) to the whispers we’ve all heard about how stars like Charli navigate this snake pit.

The cast is stacked in the best way. Alexander Skarsgård chews scenery as the manipulative powerhouse pulling strings, Rachel Sennott brings that unhinged bestie energy that grounds the whole mess, and then you’ve got Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, Trew Mullen, and even A.G. Cook popping in to blur the lines between reality and fiction. It’s ensemble perfection, but let’s be real, the film belongs to Charli’s vision.

Charli Plays Herself… But Make It Electric

What blew me away most was Charli’s role. She plays a version of herself, but dialed up to this wild, almost surreal extreme. She’s been super open in interviews about how it’s not a documentary, it’s a “heightened version” of her life, exaggerating the Brat era insanity into something operatic.

You see her agreeing to collabs that feel off just to keep the machine humming, navigating egos bigger than her tour venues, and wrestling with that constant pull between authenticity and what the industry demands. It’s wild because it mirrors her real-life glow-up so perfectly: the underground darling turned global disruptor, all while staying herself.

That Brat summer vibe? It’s everywhere. The neon-drenched parties, the glitchy beats underscoring tense boardroom fights, the moments where vulnerability cracks through the armor, it’s like someone took her entire discography and turned it into celluloid. I laughed, and even straight-up yelled at the screen during one scene.

Why This Feels Like Peak Charli XCX

Charli isn’t just the idea woman here… she’s the pulse. Her touch elevates The Moment toa a cultural event. You feel her hand in the dialogue that snaps like a viral tweet, the soundtrack snippets that tease her evolution beyond Brat, and the way it doesn’t shy away from calling out the gatekeepers. And coming off Brat’s cultural takeover, this film screams that Charli’s not riding a wave, she’s creating tsunamis.

Production-wise, it’s sleek and subversive. The arena prep sequences had my heart racing, intercut with these intimate breakdowns that humanize the hustle. Skarsgård’s villain arc is chef’s kiss evil and icy charisma masking pure control—and Rachel’s comedic timing steals every scene she’s in. But Charli? She’s magnetic, vulnerable, and fierce. This is her showing us she can command the screen like she does the charts, proving brat was no fluke.

Charli’s Endless Winning Streak

The Moment is just the start of Charli’s cinematic takeover. She’s got roles lined up in Pete Ohs’ Erupcja, Julia Jackman’s 100 Nights of Hero, Romain Gavras’ Sacrifice, Daniel Goldhaber’s Faces of Death, Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, and Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist. The woman’s booked and busy, blending her pop empire with Hollywood ambition like it’s nothing.

And she’s recorded a full new album as the soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, her adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic, hitting theaters February 13th. brat might be in the rearview, but Charli XCX is accelerating into god-mode: music, film, cultural force. She’s rewriting the rules, one unapologetic project at a time.

Final Verdict: See It, Stan It, Live It

Run, don’t walk, to The Moment. It’s hilarious, heartbreaking, and hypnotic; a mirror to the pop world that Charli knows inside out. She didn’t just inspire this film; she owned it, turning personal chaos into art that demands attention. 10/10, no notes. Charli XCX isn’t a moment… she’s the whole damn era and The Moment proves it.