‘The Moment’ Review: Charli XCX and the Messy Reality of Being an Artist

Charli XCX in The Moment (Courtesy of A24)

I want to begin by saying that I know (or knew) absolutely nothing about Charli XCX. My girlfriend however, loves her. Prior to the screening of this film she pretty much gave me the 411 on everything I needed to know about what we might be seeing here and it sounded interesting to say the least. So when I say I went into The Moment with zero expectations and came out genuinely impressed, I mean that. Rather than positioning itself as a glossy celebration of pop stardom, the film opts for something more restrained and personal, a raw, intimate portrait of Charli XCX at a point of emotional and creative friction. It’s less interested in mythologizing success than in observing what that success costs.

In the film, a rising pop star (Charli XCX), navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut. At its core, The Moment functions as a study of burnout, identity, and artistic pressure. Charli is presented not as an untouchable pop figure, but as a working artist navigating exhaustion, self-doubt, and the feeling of being constantly pulled in opposing directions: commercial expectations versus experimentation, public persona versus private self, momentum versus the desire to stop and reassess. The film’s strength lies in how casually it allows these tensions to surface. There’s no single dramatic breakdown engineered for maximum impact; instead, the emotional weight accumulates gradually through conversations, downtime, and moments of visible uncertainty. 

One of the most effective choices the documentary makes is presenting the making of a documentary style movie. Alexander Skarsgård plays a film director who seeks full creative control over the film that Charli’s team hopes to make. Charli is more uninterested in the whole “film” idea and that is one of the film’s greatest tensions. The loose, observational approach mirrors Charli’s internal state, creating a sense of drifting that feels intentional rather than careless. We’re not guided toward a clean thesis about who she is or where she’s headed. Instead, the film captures a transitional phase, messy, unresolved, and in flux. That incompleteness ultimately feels honest. Life rarely offers narrative closure, and neither does The Moment. Maybe also because there is no real closure to be had, this mockumentary only focuses on her mega hit album, brat. 

Another thing that caught my eye is that the film quietly comments on the labor behind pop stardom. Touring, recording, promoting, and maintaining an online presence blur together into an endless cycle, making it difficult to locate where the “work” ends and the self begins. In this sense, The Moment becomes less about celebrity and more about contemporary creative labor in general. This is another point where Alexander Skarsgård’s character, Johannes, is also very integral to the film’s plot. Upon entry, he claims he does not want to overstep anything, “this is your show, I’m just observing,” but as the film carries on, it becomes exactly as you would expect. Johannes is the one making all of the creative choices for Charli and her team, etc.  Charli’s experiences, while rooted in the music industry, echo broader anxieties faced by artists operating inside algorithm-driven, hyper-visible economies.

That said, the mockumentary occasionally feels slight. Some threads are introduced but not fully explored, and certain sequences linger without offering new insight. Viewers looking for deep historical context, extensive career retrospectives, or detailed technical breakdowns of the music-making process may find the film somewhat surface-level. Its minimalism is both a strength and a limitation.

Still, what The Moment achieves is valuable: it humanizes an artist without reducing her to trauma or triumph. It offers a quiet, thoughtful snapshot of a person trying to locate herself inside an overwhelming system. It doesn’t redefine the music documentary, but it doesn’t need to. It succeeds as a reflective character study and an honest slice of time. It definitely surprised me. If you are a fan of this artist, I think you will have a pleasant time. 

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐