Charli XCX has been on the scene for about 12 years when her song Boom Clap was used on the soundtrack for The Fault in Our Stars. She has been gradually getting more and more involved in the film industry, having had 2 voice roles in animated films, The Angry Birds Movie and UglyDolls, as well as an appearance on the reboot of Gossip Girl and Overcompensating. After the explosion of her album, Brat, she managed to get even more into the film world with roles in 7 films that have been released last year or will be released this year.
The Moment is a mockumentary that follows Charli XCX (as herself) as she prepares for the start of her world tour and pressures that come with the fame, as her label wants to make a documentary about her.
It’s obviously not the first time we’ve seen a singer cross into the world of acting, I think of people like Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande who have done both throughout their career and both earned Oscar nominations for their acting. It certainly feels like Charli XCX wants to be in that crowd, she has a clear passion for any form of art, and particularly film seems to be a focus with her, she actively advertises her Letterboxd and regularly shares what she’s been watching. That passion is always good, and shows she cares and wants to head in the right direction. Obviously playing herself should be easy for her, depending on how much we see in this film is what was written or natural. Her delivery doesn’t always feel natural, and can feel a little clunky.
The supporting cast does a decent job. Charli takes up much of the focus of the film, and others just dip in and out. The stand-out being Alexander Skarsgard who plays the director that the label wants to make a tour film for Charli, bringing his own basic style that lacks any creativity but is loved by the higher ups. He hasn’t starred in too many comedies in his career, but seems to really enjoy it when he does get to. He recently had an appearance on SNL and was clearly loving every second of doing it. In a similar way I think he’ll have thrived being in this world, and playing quite a caricature of a man.
Director, Aidan Zamiri hasn’t directed a feature film before, but has directed a few music videos with big names. I think he does an okay job in the directing front, and I can picture this feeling very much like what Charli envisioned for this project. The film at times does struggle in a couple of areas. Despite having a run time of 1 hour 43 minutes, the pacing of the film can really meander at times, slowing down for a comedic moment which doesn’t really land.
Zamiri teams up with Bertie Brandes for writing duty, neither of them have written a feature film before, it’s also hard to know on a film like this if there was any improvisation on set, it feels like it could’ve been that environment where ideas where added to the scene as they shot.
Overall, The Moment is an entertaining watch and was refreshing compared to a lot of the other films currently showing. Charli XCX clearly has a passion for this industry, and is only just having her first steps on the big screen, a journey that will no doubt see her be cast time and time again. The writing and trying a bit too hard might let this film down from being the next level.
What did you think of The Moment?
Just one more review to go!
Flooders Films 
Leave a comment