Charli XCX – ‘Music, Fashion, Film’ review: a snapshot of stardom from a true modern artist

“One for them, one for me.” That’s a movie-making philosophy often attributed to Martin Scorsese, capturing the seesawing cadences of a film career: make a commercial project and then a personal one. It’s tempting to view Charli XCX’s eighth album, ‘Music, Fashion, Film’, through Marty’s mantra (he appears on the album cover, after all, alongside her other artistic GOATs John Cale and Marc Jacobs). The world turned her go-for-broke club-pop opus ‘Brat’ into the biggest album of her career and a cultural phenomenon, and Charli has responded by coolly spiking any and all ensuing expectations of her and her music. READ MORE: Kim Petras: “If you think I ruined my life, that’s fine – I’m going to write songs about it” When ‘Brat’ summer broke, Charli wasted little time narrativising her own dizzying rise, responding in real-time through remixes and her own satirical film The Moment. She also swiftly seized the new creative opportunities, often in film, afforded her by the commercial and critical acclaim. Charli didn’t expect to follow ‘Brat’ up so soon, she told Rolling Stone: “I felt very creatively drained and not inspired to write anything new. Then suddenly, inspiration came.” ‘Musi...