In an age of what sometimes feels like a deluge of streaming documentaries about celebrities, Charli XCX has taken a different route, instead offering a mockumentary behind the brat tour that satirises corporate manufacturing, artistic autonomy (or lack thereof) and when the commercial takes over the art, amongst other things. It is an interesting idea that suffers from a muddled execution.

We meet Charli at the end of brat summer, an organic, fan-led phenomenon that the record label is desperate to hang onto. Gearing up for the brat tour, Charli and her manager (Jamie Demetriou) are forced into accepting a famous filmmaker (Alexander Skarsgård) as the concert film’s director, despite his clashing creative vision. His presence in rehearsals causes friction between Charli and her team, particularly creative director, Celeste (Hailey Benton Gates) as what is truly brat gets overhauled into a more commercially-minded entity. Caught in the pressure to stay at the level brat catapulted her to and trying to navigate a level of intervention she hasn’t dealt with before, Charli struggles to maintain her artistic integrity and muddles through a mix of corporate brand deals, egos and projecting an image that everything is fine.

The first half of the film is entirely believable as a documentary and Charli XCX proves herself a good actress in playing this parallel version of herself. We see the woman behind the pop star and the lines of reality are brilliantly blurred. However, the film maybe suffers a little from this level of realism; the satire and humour are often too toned down to really take hold. Whilst initially very watchable, the film starts to feel a little uneventful in the emotional stakes and strains interest until it sparks up. As things start to escalate, the film (and Charli) begin to spiral in a very A24 way, but the film doesn’t quite manage to sustain or to commit to this energy for long enough. When the film’s humour does come in it is often very dry and quite fantastically British and we get glimpses of what the filmmakers were going for. Charli XCX is supported by a great cast full of comedic talent that fill out Charli’s world, even if most aren’t given much of a character to work with beyond overly-familiar caricatures. Alexander Skarsgård is a stand out, throwing himself into his part to produce some of the film’s funniest moments. There are also fun cameos, from Rachel Sennot to Kylie Jenner all of whom, actors or not, pull off their parts really well.

There is interesting commentary on what happens when an organic phenomenon starts to be co-opted and pushed by corporate entities and what happens when art is released and doesn’t belong to the artist anymore. However, it feels like it has more to say and doesn’t have enough bite to what it does show. The film does feel like we are seeing the woman behind brat; there are quieter moments away from the stage that feel like the peek behind the curtain of a real mockumentary. XCX feels as though she lets herself show through although is obviously playing a version of herself. It’ll be interesting to see her upcoming acting projects as this, albeit very specific project, shows some potential.

It is an intriguing experiment and it would be great if more artists took creative routes like this, although it doesn’t quite land or feel as audacious as it should.