Musicians turning to the film medium is nothing new. From Taylor Swift breaking theater records with her Eras Tour film to the Weeknd dividing moviegoers with Hurry Up Tomorrow, it is becoming increasingly common for musicians to take their talents to Hollywood. Because of this, it was bound that more big-name artists would join them, with the most recent being Charli XCX. With a handful of roles in 2026 alone, her film The Moment stands as her biggest to date, as the protagonist is Charli XCX herself. With the rough patches that musicians have had in the film world, many wondered if Charli could find success, and luckily, she did.

The film follows Charli XCX in the fall of 2024, shortly after her album “brat” took over the summer and became her most successful record. Attempting to maintain her popularity, she begins rehearsal for an upcoming tour, where she butts heads with film director Johannes (Alexander Skarsgård) as he tries to maintain a different vision for a concert film he is making about Charli. Shot in a mockumentary style, the film uses a mix of actors and real-life celebrities to maintain a sense of realism, but the entire story is a fictionalised account of Charli XCX’s mind during her peak of popularity.

The Moment could’ve easily been a narcissistic and egotistical look at the pop star, delving into how much of a success she was during her “brat” era, but the film takes a surprisingly intelligent and empathetic take on the life of a musician, expressing the muddled waters of the creative process and the pressures of delivering quality content for their fans as well as themselves. Whether it’s Charli shooting content for other brands or attempting to put a tour together, the film somehow finds a way to make a larger-than-life figure feel grounded in nature.

Whenever musicians try to make their audience feel bad about their experiences, it usually comes off as extremely out-of-touch, but luckily, with The Moment, writers Aidan Zamiri and Bertie Brandes do an excellent job of making the film a cathartic experience for Charli, hoping to gain something from the making of the film instead of having the film be an excuse to feel bad for the artist. The film’s ending drives this point home perfectly, with a voicemail beautifully summing up its themes of moving forward and Charli’s current psyche post-“brat”. Filmmakers making projects for themselves always make for a more resonant and satisfying experience, and The Moment easily falls under this category.

Musicians transitioning into acting rarely turn out well, but Charli XCX is astonishing at playing herself. People often view performances by people who play themselves as less-than-so, but having the ability to put all of oneself into a role, faults and all, is extremely difficult. Saying that, Charli finds all the right steps to portray her pure self. Whether she’s having a mental breakdown or simply walking across a set, her attentiveness in each frame makes her a compelling protagonist you’ll never want to take your eyes off. Alexander Skarsgård is also a major standout, delivering a restrained performance as the egotistical film director. His quiet approach to changing the tour’s style and storytelling made for a compelling antagonist, emphasizing the film’s themes about the difficulties of the creative process and making the small scale feel big in stakes.

Despite having such an individual take on the life of a musician, the film does fall into some cliches of the genre. Although Johannes’s storyline is pivotal to the film’s themes, its structure follows that of every other musician-based film. When your antagonist’s story plays out similarly to Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, a parody of musician films, then you know there’s an issue within the storytelling. The film is also filled with flashing text to signify a change in time and location, and while this is very much a Charli XCX staple, it becomes grating at times. Because the text is flashing, it can sometimes be hard to read, making for an even more bizarre inclusion. Easily the worst case of flashing lights is the film’s opening scene, blinding the viewer with a strobe light that’s easily the least inviting way to open a film. Even the “flash warning” was flashing at the viewer, which I found to be extremely distasteful.

Despite some issues, The Moment stands as one of the better musician-based films in recent memory due to its introspective nature and compelling filmmaking. Seeing Charli XCX in a new and vulnerable light made it much easier to appreciate her as an artist. With numerous projects set to release in the calendar year, this film is a great tease of Charli’s next era.

The Moment is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Rating: 7/10

Oscar Prospects:

None