“Charli Xcx shows us there’s no shame in being vulnerable in The Moment. Here’s why it’s the film I’m most excited for in 2026”

I have to be honest, I wouldn’t have thought I was Charli Xcx’s target audience. She’s the ultimate cool girl whereas I love an early night and never go clubbing. Yet my Apple Replay told me Club Classics was my most streamed song in 2025 – a testament to the way she captured my heart this summer. 

Having made this the year of going to all the festivals I was curious about, I had my own brat summer and saw Charli three times. Coachella and Glastonbury were fantastic, but seeing her at Primavera was one of the best nights of my life. Chappell Roan was her ‘apple girl’, a signature part of Charli’s show where the camera pans to a dancing fan – and just one example of how the Brat album and tour have created a seismic cultural impact since 2024. At every location Charli played, fans dreamt of having the coveted apple girl position, and it’s now a trick that her pop peers are adopting on stage, too. Sabrina Carpenter arrests a Juno fan at every concert, Haim celebrate their Relationships girl, Zara Larsson dances with her Lush Life friends. The apple girl concept has shaped the zeitgeist.

This demonstrates how Brat became so much more than a record. A movement and a way of being, it has taken on a life of its own. The aesthetic is undone, with smudgy smoky eyes (if any eye make-up at all), barely-there skin, sculpted brown lips and natural hair. A plain white vest and mini skirt. Monochrome everything. No bra. Brat is about caring as little as possible, looking nonplussed for a photo. Trying too hard is embarrassing.

With all of this in mind, fans have been counting down to the release of The Moment, an A24 film made to chronicle this era in Charli’s career. Was this going to be our chance to peel away the layers of her carefully curated image? But when the trailer dropped in December, it took me by surprise – in the best possible way. 

Rather than documenting her authentic creative process, The Moment is a mockumentary. Charli plays a caricature of herself, navigating new heights of fame and contemplating the lifespan of Brat. She has a meltdown in the back of a taxi to Jamie Demetriou (known affectionately to many of us as the dweeby guy from the bus in Fleabag). In entirely unprecedented news, we see Anne from Amandaland (Philippa Dunne) facilitating a red-carpet appearance. The Moment looks set to be a total mishmash of references, portrayed by a stellar cast that also includes Alexander Skarsgård, Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Rachel Sennott and Kylie Jenner.

Perhaps most importantly, Charli is completely and utterly the butt of the joke. The Moment trailer appears to flip everything we think we know about the Brat era on its head as Charli shares many insecure moments, demonstrating the sheer amount of thought she puts into giving off such carefree energy. The irony is astounding, and I mean that as the most warming and joyous compliment. Here Charli’s fans have been, desperate to mimic her relaxed look, when in reality she’s showing us how hard it was to conjure. It turns out that nothing about Brat was effortless; The Moment trailer underscores that it took hard work and graft.

In sharing this insight, satirical or otherwise, Charli is showing us that she has vulnerable moments, and isn’t always the cool girl she shows us on stage. She’s a normal person working to create a show. And she’s doing a kindness and service to the fans that look up to her by lifting the veil in this way. She’s making it clear that she hasn’t got it all figured out and that none of us are cringey for caring.

I’m always conflicted about the idea that musicians have to be role models. I think it’s unfair when public figures are expected to behave in a certain way because they have young fans; surely that’s not something that they can control, nor should they feel responsible for. But given the fact that Charli has a colossal fanbase now, all desperate to emulate her every move, I think her ability to poke fun at her own behaviour and make clear that it takes effort to be effortless is a very endearing move. There’s a real big-sister energy to her spilling all the secrets, showing the moments of vulnerability, and reminding the girls that look up to her that she has her own self-doubts. Bring on 2026, because I can’t wait to celebrate her in The Moment.

Images: Getty