Charli XCX film The Moment earns mixed reviews with critics not convinced
Charli XCX at The Moment’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Charli XCX at The Moment's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
The reviews are in and people have some mixed feelings about Charli XCX‘s, The Moment which has premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
The mockumentary follows a version of the brat creator as she prepares to embark upon a world tour in connection with the 2024 hit album.
As well as Charli, the film stars Rosanna Arquette, Jamie Demetriou, Hailey Benton Gates, Isaac Powell, Rachel Sennott, Rish Shah, and Alexander Skarsgård.
Aidan Zamiri, who directed Charli’s music videos for “360” and “Guess”, returns as director in the film slated for release in UK cinemas on 20 February.
Since the weekend, reviews have been pouring in for the film, which currently has a 54% approval rating on review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes.
The Hollywood Reporter praised Charli, who also stars in 100 Nights of Hero, as a “natural, engaging actor”. But it also skewers the film for coming across as confused as to what its message is – “a biting farce about the vacuities of celebrity industry? Or is it an earnest reflection on what it was to live at the center of this good-natured but still highly pressurized mania?”
Similarly, Deadline celebrated Charli’s “heightened, dynamic performance” and called the film “a spiritual sequel to Spice World“. Giving The Moment three stars, The Guardian called it a “defanged satire” and “less Spinal Tap and more Black Swan“.
Variety offered praise for Zamiri, who makes his feature debut with The Moment, but said the film “should have pushed further into crackpot satirical extreme”. Vulture has described the fictionalised version of Charli on screen as being “not a cinematically interesting version”. It later wonders whether anyone has “thought the film through”.
Offering the film 7/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, Collider said the “365” singer is “wonderful” in the film, “especially in the more frantic, anxiety-inducing moments.” Of the film’s problems, the outlet wrote: “Everything feels fine and fun, but often scattered and not willing to go too far with its concept.”
And The Daily Beast has described the film as a “flop”, picking at the “problematic” screenplay as well as “one-note” characters like Skarsgård’s Johannes, a director who disagrees with Charli’s brat vision.
The Moment is out in UK cinemas on 20 February.
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