Brat summer is dead. Long live brat summer. The limed-hued craze of summer 2024 that baffled and bewitched the culture becomes a channel for artistic introspection in the new Charli XCX vehicle “The Moment.” This concert mockumentary directed by Aidan Zamiri, written by Zamiri and Bertie Brandes, is based on an original idea from pop superstar XCX, who stars as a version of herself, contemplating when and how she can and should let “brat” die, and if it’s even something that remains under her control.

“The Moment” is a cheeky send-up of concert movies that aligns with XCX’s naughty club rat stage persona, which throws up a middle finger to the perfect pop star aesthetic. But in “The Moment,” XCX and Zamiri peel back the layers of tattered tanks and artfully blasé cool to reveal the woman behind the wraparound shades, and expose the work that goes into the “365 party girl.” XCX allows us to see that she really cares, and that she tries—there’s a lot of effort and even awkwardness and embarrassment required to be so punk.

“The Moment” works in the lineage of films like “This Is Spinal Tap,” and the Beatles’ lightly fictionalized documentary “A Hard Day’s Night” (or even “Help!”), but often, “The Moment” feels most like “The Office,” as a very British, bone-dry, situational workplace comedy that just happens to be set in the world of pop superstardom.

The films opens the way you might expect, with a loud strobing sequence that intercuts Charli writhing on the floor with her signature text and font-heavy lists of references (a title motif that continues throughout). But the camera holds as the music cuts out, and Charli is left wet and panting on the floor, asking if she should go again, the first exposure of vulnerability behind the powerful, seemingly impenetrable image.

Charli, the artist, is singular in her vision and voice, but she still battles outside pressure, from random drivers to C-suite executives. The plot follows her journey as she gears up for a big brat sendoff show with her creative director Celeste (Hailey Benton Gates), the two women pondering how to put a bullet in the head of brat, as a concept, knowing that its time will always expire. A wrinkle arrives in the form of a concert documentarian hired by her label, Atlantic Records.

Let’s just say Johannes (Alexander Skarsgård), is a little too Coldplay, while Celeste is more Berghain — and never the twain shall meet. Caught in a tug-of-war between her team and her creative partner, Charli succumbs, revealing her insecurity and susceptibility to external forces (embodied here by none other than Kylie Jenner). Can she maintain the ineffable brat je ne sais quoi? Or will she be swept away by the tidal wave of normie pop?

This is the conflict at the heart of the story, one that Charli beautifully expresses in a third act monologue, but “The Moment” is also a hilarious music industry satire, bringing together celebrities playing some version of themselves (Rachel Sennott) and comedians playing members of Charli’s team (Jamie Demetriou as her ineffectual manager).

Casting director Jennifer Venditti has packed the cast with fresh new faces like Richard Perez, and talented up-and-coming stars such as Isaac Powell, as well as icons like Rosanna Arquette, who plays the head of Atlantic Records. Gates is a standout in the supporting cast, delivering a grounded performance as a creative woman who is consistently undermined by the men in the room.

But XCX holds the center as the funny and frazzled Charli, who ends up in a lime green two-piece, hoisted from a harness above a giant, pyrotechnic-enabled lighter as part of her woefully misbegotten stage show, hijacked by Johannes, who clearly has no idea what “brat” means.

“The Moment” works best when examining the creative tensions between people with different agendas, the small passive-aggressive tensions and second-guessing generating the ripples of conflict. But perhaps Zamiri felt those stakes were too small. There’s a strange and misguided third-act swing involving a bank crisis and a brat credit card (an admittedly funny bit) that just feels forced in the scope of this story.

It’s a wobble that could have upended this otherwise amusing and insightful satire of the concert film genre that has cropped up in the past few years. Charli gives us her version of that, but of course, she does it her way — with a healthy dose of irreverence and bratty attitude. But she shows the hard work and sweat that goes into it all, revealing that being “brat” isn’t easy in the least. It’s good to know she cares.

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'THE MOMENT'

3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for language throughout and some drug material)

Running time: 1:43

How to watch: In theaters Jan. 30

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