Charli XCX’s Brat Phenomenon Will get A Mockumentary

Who’s Charli XCX? On a base stage, it is a query posed by these out of contact with the music scene of as we speak, one thing more and more widespread now that music distribution has change into so scattered by algorithms taking the place of curation. On a deeper stage, the query begs a observe up: can we ever really know, and why do we have to? This facet has been tied to celeb for eons, and it is one thing which pop stars particularly have frequently struggled with. The “musician film,” for lack of a greater time period, has manifested in numerous guises through the years. People like Elvis Presley and David Bowie went forward and have become full-blown film stars, whereas bands like The Beatles and KISS put themselves into style workout routines. Then there are thinly-veiled confessional dramas, like Prince’s “Purple Rain” and The Weeknd’s “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” And, after all, there’s the hybrid live performance movie and documentary, from “ABBA: The Film” to Taylor Swift’s “Miss Americana.”

The 2 most foundational musician movies are ones which play quick and free with celeb and actuality: Richard Lester’s “A Laborious Day’s Night time” (starring The Beatles) and Rob Reiner’s “That is Spinal Faucet” (starring the fictional titular group). It is these two movies which star Charli and co-writer/director Aidan Zamiri’s first function, “The Second,” seeks to aspire to probably the most. Charli, aka Charlotte Emma Aitchison, is a British pop singer who may nonetheless be referred to as area of interest till her sixth album, “Brat,” exploded in 2024. “The Second” is ostensibly a movie which takes a take a look at the “Brat” phenomenon, solely it does so by a closely fictionalized mockumentary lens. As such, “The Second” is not only a figuring out little bit of self-deprecation and obfuscation on Charli’s half, however can be an interesting, usually bitterly hilarious media satire.

Up till “The Second” premiered on the 2026 Sundance Movie Pageant, it wasn’t clear from the film’s advance advertising simply what sort of movie it was to be. Adrian Zamiri and Charli XCX lean into that uncertainty as a part of the efficiency artwork of the film. “The Second” is about in the course of the summer season of 2024, when “brat summer season” turned a meme together with the album’s rampant reputation. Charli (taking part in herself) is a veteran pop star abruptly dealing with worldwide megastardom, and her label Atlantic Data are leaping at each likelihood to capitalize on this newfound success. Blended in with numerous bits of actual life hype and viral moments that occurred within the wake of “Brat” (such because the “Apple” choreography from Tik Tok) are fictionalized incidents, like Charli making an uncomfortable look on “The Late Present With Stephen Colbert” or taking part in {a magazine} photoshoot the place odd collaborators like Molly (Kate Berlant) strain her into making trite artistic decisions.

All of that involves a head with the preparations for the “Brat” world tour, as Charli’s longtime good friend and inventive director Celeste (Hailey Benton Gates) is slowly however certainly pushed apart by the report label in favor of the stylish and extremely problematic movie director Johannes Godwin (Alexander Skarsgård). It is by Skarsgård’s efficiency that “The Second” actually finds its satiric voice, because the actor creates an indelible, terrible showbiz wolf in sheep’s clothes. Godwin is like John Glover’s character from “Scrooged” dialed as much as eleven. Skarsgård and Zamiri preserve Godwin’s antics each hilarious and plausible, as he dismantles and sensationalizes the live performance (and Charli’s picture) bit by seemingly innocuous bit till it is too far gone. Thus, “The Second” is not a mockumentary about the true life “Brat” expertise and tour, however an alt-history by which Charli sells herself out.

“The Second” will undeniably disappoint followers who come to it hoping to expertise the true life Charli XCX. It is clear that Charli is not taken with presenting her true self unfiltered, one thing which most pop stars like to present the looks of nowadays. As a substitute, her display screen “Charli XCX” is a intentionally cheeky obfuscation. She’s as a lot sufferer as she is perpetrator; one second, Charli is being railroaded and manipulated by the lads that encompass her, not simply Godwin however her supervisor Tim (Jamie Demetriou), forcing her to hurt her integrity by means of sycophantic platitudes. One other second, Charli is a sizzling mess, attending drug-fueled ragers and taking off for a trip in Ibiza simply when Celeste wants her most. A big subplot of the movie includes Charli naively agreeing to sponsor a “Brat” bank card marketing campaign and the varied points which spiral from that poor resolution.

Charli’s efficiency as this skewed, fictionalized model of herself is fueled by this ambivalence. It is not clear which facets of the display screen Charli are her being confessional, that are her dwelling out some self-deprecating (or self-destructive) fantasies, and that are her and Aidan Zamiri simply having amusing. But this ambiguity makes her work within the movie that a lot stronger, particularly throughout moments when some reality seems to bubble to the floor. In a single scene, Charli is made by Godwin to rehearse probably the most private track on “Brat,” “I Would possibly Say One thing Silly,” whereas carrying a gaudy outfit and flying on wires excessive within the air. It is a scene that carries as a lot sincerity because it does satire; whereas this incident by no means really occurred, it communicates Charli the particular person’s anxieties about performing such nakedly intimate ideas and emotions for thousands and thousands.

Along with probably alienating Charli XCX’s fan base, “The Second” dangers annoying anybody coming to see a film a couple of musician, as there’s merely not a ton of performances in it. There are a pair, positive, and the rating by frequent Charli collaborator A.G. Cook dinner provides the movie a pulse. But “The Second” shouldn’t be a music film, not even in the best way extra experimental efforts like “A Laborious Day’s Night time” or The Monkees’ “Head” are. As a substitute, the movie it feels closest to is 2019’s “Mister America,” a spin-off of the lengthy working alt-comedy “On Cinema” universe. That movie, as with all “On Cinema,” options comic Tim Heidecker taking part in a weird fictionalized model of himself, and solely these within the know perceive the myriad deep ranges of satire current in it. Beneath that lens, “The Second” appears uniquely brazen, as Charli and Aidan Zamiri appear to be deliberately trying to antagonize and problem the viewers fairly than attraction to them.

Thus, “The Second” is sarcastically the proper cinematic companion to “Brat,” in that it does its personal factor with out concern for the lots. The added irony on prime, which is that Charli’s new stage of stardom makes such a alternative borderline irresponsible or unlikeable, solely makes the movie’s intentions really feel extra resonant, not much less. Most celebrities bristle towards the truth that fame means they not can absolutely belong to themselves anymore, and “The Second” as a response to this makes the movie intriguing. Adore it or hate it, consider it to be sincere or self-indulgent, “The Second” is a film that refuses to pander, and for that, I recognize it. We could by no means know who the true Charli XCX is, however in contrast to the fictional Charli, she appears to be placing herself on the market on her personal phrases.

/Movie Ranking: 7 out of 10

“The Second” opens in theaters on January 30, 2026.