The Moment

It takes something to bring a freshness or sense of the new to the ‘mockumentary’ format.

The Moment absolutely does it. An original, polarising, surprising, brave and ‘punk’ move from Charli XCX to shut the door and start to move on from the Brat era.

The best album of 2024, a new definition added to the dictionary and a cultural moment, it takes guts to mock, spoof and step away from that luminous green record in this style.

The Moment is an all-too-real feeling, heightened reality, ‘taken to extremities’ version of prepping for the Brat tour.

If not for the inclusion of some famous names playing roles, it could easily be mistaken for a real tour documentary.

What plays out is honest, lacerating, skilful, occasionally laugh out loud, superbly cringe in a very British way and poignant.

As an awful ‘super director’ (a brilliant Alexander Skarsgard) is brought in to record a concert film for Brat and tries to change things in all the wrong ways, we see an artist having to deal with everything thrown at them at the centre of this all-encompassing wave.

The label interference, the pressure from those in and out of her circle, the media and fans both adoring, too much and sceptical, it all gives the sense that, no matter how much things may have been pushed to the edge, this is thoroughly rooted in reality.

Charli herself is magnetic. Playing yourself in this way, in this style, is a massively delicate balancing act and she aces it in a way that suggests acting is something we'll see a lot more of in her future.

It’s a hugely daring move to make this film and present it in this way. Undoubtably it’ll confuse some but it’s a properly considered, artfully made version of events that feels very on brand.

At risk of eye rolls here it is, more than anything else, so Brat.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️