Brat summer time is formally over. Or not less than that’s the impression given by “The Second,” a mockumentary that seems like the ultimate punctuation mark on what has been a generational album and viral cultural takeover that catapulted pop star Charli xcx from area of interest acclaim to full-blown superstardom. Final 12 months, Charli posted a TikTok reflecting on how tough it was to let go of Brat and the way utterly it consumed her identification and day by day life. She even floated the thought of intentionally letting a second overstay its welcome simply to see how far it may very well be pushed. That stress between inventive authenticity and calculated extra turns into the central thesis of her first critical foray into filmmaking and appearing. Just like the pop star at its heart, “The Second” is chaotic, messy, self-aware, and sometimes exhausting, but undeniably formidable.
Brat was a cultural time capsule. A meme, a motion, a advertising juggernaut that seeped into all the things from presidential campaigns to Webster’s phrase of the 12 months. However each cultural excessive has a shelf life, and “The Second” positions itself as a cinematic bookend to the phenomenon. The movie follows Charli as she makes an attempt to rework her Brat tour into the definitive apex of her viral reign whereas quietly wrestling with the worry that the wave might crest at any second.
Conceived by Charli and written alongside collaborators Aidan Zamiri and Bertie Brandes, “The Second” opens with a visually frenzied portrait of an artist locked in a tug-of-war with an business machine determined to sand down her edges and reshape her right into a broader, safer pop commodity. The movie leans closely into inside jokes and deep-cut references from Charli’s interior circle, which may make it really feel impenetrable to informal viewers. Even so, there’s sufficient uncooked chaos and artistic nervousness on show to make the story compelling past its fandom bubble. To her credit score, Charli proves a surprisingly succesful on-screen presence, leaning right into a heightened model of herself whereas making an attempt to subvert the conventions of conventional live performance movies and shiny music documentaries. At its finest, the movie turns into an anxious meditation on fame and the trendy obsession with pop stars as each product and particular person.
“Popstar” this isn’t. Neither is it the outright satire of “That is Spinal Faucet.” As a substitute, “The Second” embraces a darker, extra cynical tone, discovering humor in absurd business moments that really feel solely barely exaggerated. A operating gag involving an try and appease the queer group with a Brat-branded bank card escalates into one of many movie’s most weird narrative swings, and in opposition to all odds, it really works. Charli performs an anxious and insecure model of herself, surrounded by assistants and handlers determined to sculpt her picture. Chief amongst them is Johannes Godwin, performed by Alexander Skarsgard as a hilariously self-important auteur who treats each concept like a divine revelation. Employed to doc the tour for Amazon Music, Johannes continuously clashes with Charli’s instincts, pushing for a sanitized, Disneyfied model of her persona. When he nervously asks, “What if youngsters are watching this?” whereas the phrase “Cunt” looms on a wall behind her, the movie briefly achieves the sharp satire it so usually threatens however not often sustains.
The supporting ensemble provides texture, even when the characters verge on caricature. Jamie Demetriou performs an airless center supervisor drowning in company jargon, whereas Rish Shah and Rosanna Arquette embody document label executives who see artistry as little greater than a branding alternative. A parade of cameos from Rachel Sennott, Kate Berlant, and Kylie Jenner additional amplifies the surreal celeb ecosystem surrounding Charli, turning the movie right into a self-aware spectacle about fame feeding on itself.
Nonetheless, for a venture that prides itself on chaos and riot, “The Second” usually feels unusually restrained. It gestures towards deeper commentary on inventive burnout, parasocial fandom, and the commodification of riot however not often digs far sufficient to depart an enduring bruise. Essentially the most compelling scenes emerge when Charli collaborates along with her inventive director Celeste, performed by Hailey Benton Gates. These quieter moments reveal real inventive vulnerability and provide a glimpse into the collaborative spark that fuels her creativity. Sadly, the movie returns too rapidly to broader satire that feels secure moderately than subversive.
In the end, “The Second” positions itself as a scrappier, anti-establishment counterpoint to polished live performance spectacles like The Eras Tour. It reveals a extra fragile facet of Charli that even longtime followers might not count on, framing her journey as a wrestle to take care of inventive integrity in an business hooked on virality and fixed reinvention. The movie repeatedly means that clinging to a cultural second for too lengthy dangers alienating audiences and eroding the very authenticity that made it resonate within the first place. It’s a compelling concept that the movie solely partially realizes. “The Second” by no means absolutely locks into its rhythm, but it surely stays an intriguing portrait of an artist wrestling with fame in actual time, looking for which means in a highlight that refuses to dim.
THE MOMENT is now enjoying in theaters.