By Draven Copeland, Managing Editor
Known for her alternative persona in the world of pop music, Charli XCX has recently skyrocketed into fame once again after previously finding popularity in the 2010s with modern classic tracks like “Boom Clap” and “Break the Rules.” Although her subsequent singles and albums continued to be successful both critically and financially, Charli’s “moment” seemed to be over, especially as Taylor Swift became the figurehead of female pop music with her own generational run from Lover to Midnights and her wildly successful “Eras Tour.” However, in the summer of 2024, Charli released her most successful album yet, Brat.
With its combination of dance club-pop and surprising emotional vulnerability, Brat shook the world of pop culture even beyond the music industry, as the album’s lime-green color and minimalist artwork became a cultural staple all the way up to the release of Charli’s mockumentary film, The Moment.
Art Imitates Life
While the story was conceptualized by Charli – I mean, it was based off of her experience touring and promoting her album – The Moment’s visuals and vibes largely come from music video director Aidan Zamiri in his feature directorial debut. A frequent collaborator with modern artists like FKA Twigs, Billie Eilish, Timothée Chalamet and, of course, Charli, Zamiri brings the intensity and artistry for which he has made a name for himself over the past 7 years.
The first thing I noticed about Zamiri’s creative choices was the very clear inspiration from Argentine filmmaker Gaspar Noé – particularly Noé’s 2019 film, Lux Æterna. I’m personally biased because Noé is my favorite filmmaker of all time, but the use of intense, strobing lights in the credits sequences/establishing text immediately stood out to me and told me I was in for a good time.
Similarly to Lux Æterna, The Moment focuses on the behind-the-scenes of performance art with themes about the treatment of women in the industry, mixing candid and artistic camerawork to enhance certain scenes. For example, the opening sequence of The Moment is a quick-cutting, flashing dance sequence that really has no narrative purpose beyond setting the tone of the movie and stressing the viewer out, while the majority of the film afterwards follows Charli in an almost found-footage style, candidly presenting the stresses of her life that come as a result of her massive success. This reminded me greatly of the cinematography in Noé’s film, although the visually affronting strobing sequence is saved for the end in that one, serving as a final climactic sequence after the candid look at the backstage lives of actresses in a play about witchcraft.
Besides filmmaking influences, the influence of Charli’s life as a pop star who has had multiple experiences skyrocketing into fame is incredibly clear. Instead of telling the story about the tumults of fame from a strictly narrative perspective – I’m thinking of films like A Star Is Born and Boogie Nights – or making a concert tour movie like Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, The Moment focuses bluntly on the lightly-fictionalized life of Charli and the emotional distress that she and her team go through as they struggle to continue the success of her album/tour. Her personal understanding of fleeting fame and the impossibility of living a normal life in the midst of it is delivered to the audience through the storytelling of her performance more so than the narrative itself, as she masterfully communicates through her character’s emotions that feel almost too real at times.
Understanding Theme Despite The Stress
Before I get to talking about what I believe the true underlying theme of the film to be, let me first talk about The Moment’s discussion of gender and artistic interference that is centered in the characterization of the film’s primary antagonist, Johannes Godwin (played by Alexander Skarsgård). As Charli’s fictional Amazon Prime concert film is being produced under her and her teams’ creative direction, Johannes, the director of said concert film, slowly steals the creative reins of the production as Charli emotionally spirals under the weight of her success.
Not only is Johannes’ character a comment on men in the creative industry infantilizing and wresting artistic control from women, he is the personification of creative interference that big-budget studios and talentless executives exert over the talented minds that create their shared financial opportunities in the first place. As Johannes entirely changes the tone and unique vibe of Charli’s production in a darkly humorous fashion – such as forcefully changing the flashing and provocative stage setting displaying uncensored words like “CUNT” and “PUSSY” to a visually unflattering censored display of the word “B#TCH” without discussing the decision with the creative team – he actively undermines Charli and her autonomy over her brand and artistry. This enforces a washed out, “family-friendly” image onto the production under the guise of bringing in more viewership, eventually having the exact opposite effect.
While it’s played for comedy a lot of the time, his character’s actions are not unrealistic; the story of men taking credit for and/or otherwise undermining women’s successes in the creative industry (especially the music industry) is nothing new.
The true underlying theme of the film, however, is found in its stark portrayal of the emotional weight of expectation. As Charli’s artistic vision has become fully realized and monetized, the success that she had strived for and dreamed of puts enormous pressure upon her because of her fans’ and executives/agents’ constantly rising expectations, leading her into an emotional spiral. Her physical and mental health fall away in importance as she strives to do the best she can for her fans, her co-workers, and her own artistic integrity, constantly fighting a battle she has been set up to lose.
The question of whether to end her titular “moment” or ride it until it dies is the true central conflict of the film, and the answer given in the movie’s climax/resolution is simultaneously saddening, relieving, frustrating, and even retaliatory, as it also takes a stab at Charli’s real-life ongoing beef with rival pop-star Taylor Swift.
The Moment’s End
For context in understanding the recent developments in the Taylor/Charli beef, the last word before The Moment dropped was in Swift’s track “Actually Romantic” off her newest album, The Life of a Showgirl, in which she sang, “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave.” While this itself was in retaliation to Charli’s emotional vulnerability on Brat’s “Sympathy is a knife” (which is, coincidentally, my favorite track on the album), in which she sings “This one girl taps my insecurities / Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling,” Swift’s most recent diss clearly sparked inspiration for the ending of The Moment. Spoiler warning for the rest of this section, in case you’re planning to see the movie for yourself!
In the film’s conclusion, Johannes has completely redesigned Charli’s concert film into his terrible artistic image, and Charli, deciding to give up on the success of “Brat summer” and to let the moment die, agrees to perform the show as he wants it. It’s a choice that comes from her decision to put her mental health first over giving in to the weight of the expectations placed on her, and my reaction as a viewer was all of the things I mentioned at the end of the last section; it was hard to see Johannes win, but it was also good to see her put herself first, even when it meant losing her battle with him.
Where it comes to dissing Taylor Swift, however, is how the final scene is shot: it’s clearly riffing off of Disney+’s promotion of Swift’s Eras Tour film. While it was a frustrating ending, especially considering the intensity of the opening dance sequence at the beginning of the film and its hint at an even more intense climactic sequence later on, the bait-and-switch ending is a risky chance to diss Swift back that really pays off for the underlying themes of the film.
It shows how disheartening it is for Charli to be forced to give in to Johannes’ vision, and how disappointing it would be for her to sell out to the “family-friendly” performance like the one given in Swift’s PG-13-rated concert film. While I didn’t really like it at first, I’ve grown to really appreciate this ending, as it portrays the consequences that come with her choosing to put herself first; it’s disappointing for us, but it’s what’s best for her – and it disses Swift back without needing to actually address her or the beef directly. Chef’s kiss.
What’s Next
Once again, I’m biased because of my love for Charli, my love for Gaspar Noé’s and Adrian Zamiri’s artistic directions, and my disdain for Swift’s last couple of albums/her emotionally unintelligent disses towards Ms. XCX. Still, I absolutely loved The Moment both as a stand-alone film and as a conclusion to “Brat summer” as Charli moves on to her next project, her companion album to Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” film. I’m beyond excited to see Charli continue her acting career after her honestly amazing performance in this movie, as she’s set to appear in both the reboot of the controversial horror franchise Faces of Death and famed horror director Takashi Miike’s untitled upcoming film… also in the horror genre, naturally.
While The Moment can be a challenge to the viewer at times, that is exactly the type of art I like to see. With Charli’s shift into acting and re-entry into pop culture’s spotlight, I cannot wait to see what she does next – I truly believe she’s one of the greatest artists in the popular sphere right now, and The Moment is just further proof of that.
The Moment is available for purchase on Fandango At Home for $24.99. It’s in the stage between its theatrical run and its drop to streaming, but is expected to arrive HBO Max in the near future because of the subscription service’s recent deal with A24, the publisher for the film.
