The Moment (A PopEntertainment Movie Review)

The Moment

THE MOMENT (2026)

Starring Charli XCX, Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, Hailey Gates, Isaac Powell, Alexander Skarsgård, Rish Shah, Trew Mullen, Kylie Jenner, Rachel Sennott, Arielle Dombasle, Mel Ottenberg, Richard Perez, Tish Weinstock, Michael Workéyè, Julia Fox, Shygirl, and A. G. Cook

Written by Aidan Zamiri and Bertie Brandes

Directed by Aidan Zamiri

Distributed by A24. 103 minutes. Rated R.

Has The Moment’s time passed?

Charli XCX’s new mockumentary answers – or attempts to answer – the question of how pop stars make the decision when to evolve and move on from a breakout era. The era in question is the Brat album era, you know, the one that defined summer 2024.

The electronic artist’s sixth studio album took the world by storm in 2024 including viral tracks “360,” “Apple” and “365.” Charli has been putting out music for years, in heavy radio rotations of hits “I Love It” and “Boom Clap” in the early 2010’s. Though she was known, the Brat album was what brought Charli to the forefront of everyone’s minds and social media feeds.

The film follows Charli leading up to the Brat World Tour, highlighting the trials and tribulations pop culture icons face when they’re having their “moment,” and follows an alternate timeline in which she milked this chapter of her career and fell (even more) victim to the corporate music machine.

Viewers are thrown into the XCX world: partying, influencers, more partying, and mornings that start at noon. The Brat album has been taking the world by storm for quite some time now, so tour rehearsals and brand deals are underway. In addition to British Vogue and Skims, Charli’s team pushes her to partner with a commercial bank to release a lime green Brat credit card. Though her fans would buy a bag of rocks if it had her face on it, the company agrees to give away free concert tickets to everyone that signs up for the card.

Another money grab move on the singer’s team was secretly hiring an accredited concert film director, Johannes, portrayed by Alexander Skarsgård, to shoot a show on the upcoming tour for release on Amazon Prime. This is a point of contention between Charli and her team members because 1) she didn’t approve of working with this man and 2) he’s a total psycho. I’m talking insane – like he is in an ongoing legal battle with another pop star because he claims she’s “taking over his movie.” The movie about her tour.

In any case, this causes drama between Charli’s trusted artistic director, friend, and confidant, Celeste, played by Hailey Gates, and Johannes, because they have vastly differing creative visions and processes. Think of Celeste’s vision for the tour as a nightclub and Johannes’ vision as an acid trip in Candyland. One clearly matches Charli’s energy more accurately, and it’s not the one with Lord Licorice smoking a joint.

Things soon begin to go downhill as tensions grow on the creative side of things. Meanwhile, the bank that released the “Brat Cards” was shut down for mass amounts of fraud on behalf of its customers. Surprise, surprise – teenagers would go to unimaginable lengths for free concert tickets, including signing up for multiple credit cards under various pseudonyms to redeem as many tickets as possible.

The world literally falls down on Charli, and she needs to decide whether it’s worth holding onto this chapter of her life, moving on to the next, or rewriting the book completely.

Though The Moment is a mockumentary, it touches on very real topics like how social media can make your career just as quickly as it can break it, and how the corporate world of music and its deep inner workings impact what we think we know of pop culture.

Though I was disappointed with the conclusion, I will say, I appreciate Charli’s transparency and vulnerability in cracking open the door for viewers to peek inside the life of a pop star at her peak. I can’t help but wonder how much of this mockumentary is fabricated, and how much reflects her lived experiences during this time.

Overall, I’d say this film is a maybe-see for Charli fans but a skip for everyone else. Maybe don’t swipe the “Brat Card” for this one.

Kayla Marra

Copyright ©2026 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: February 5, 2026.