Erupcja Review: Charli xcx Stuns In Romantic Euro-Trip Of Destruction & Fresh Starts

There's something about being in a new city that can bring out impulsivity. Warsaw isn't exactly new to Bethany (pop icon Charli xcx), but it's been some time since she's visited. In Erupcja, she arrives in Poland with her longtime boyfriend, Rob (Will Madden), who has an engagement ring in tow and a proposal plan in his back pocket. Bethany has an inkling that Rob is planning to pop the question, and that's making her squirrelly. When Italy's Mount Etna erupts, delaying their flight back to London, something also explodes in Bethany, and she reunites with her on-again-off-again friend Nel (Lena Góra).

What follows in director Pete Ohs' latest feature is an understated romantic drama about the urge to blow up your own life, and what it looks like when that doesn't quite generate the fireworks you were hoping for. Ohs wrote the script for Erupcja with his cast, which also includes playwright Jeremy O. Harris, while serving as his own cinematographer and editor. It gives the film a feeling of spontaneity that is as freeing as the way Bethany and Nel run through the streets of Warsaw in the middle of the night. It's an effective, if slight, drama – Ohs' best yet, and one that truly proves Charli xcx's magnetism as an actress.

Erupcja Is A Quiet Explosion Of Romance

In English, "erupcja" means "eruption," an apt title given the circumstances, but one that finds new meaning when Nel and Bethany reunite: Every time they get together, somewhere in the world, a volcano erupts. The first time this happened, they were 16 and Bethany was stuck in Warsaw for a month. It happened several more times over the years, culminating in her most recent trip with Rob. Ohs contrasts this story of explosions with a much quieter examination of different kinds of love.

There's clearly a lot to love about Rob. He's attentive, thoughtful, present, and willing to go with the flow. Yet, Bethany can't help but be annoyed by him. She side-eyes Rob when he sits while he pees, and she'd rather talk to the American artist at the table next to theirs than her own boyfriend, who booked the reservation. That's why she can't help but be drawn back into her old friend's orbit. She follows Nel on her walk home from the flower shop where she works, and though Bethany hasn't called in years, they resume a comfortable rapport, as if it's only been hours since they've seen each other.

Whereas there's a sense of unease when Bethany and Rob are interacting, the scenes between Nel and Bethany are breezy, despite their frenetic pacing. They may be tearing up Warsaw clubs and smoking cigarettes while sitting on the curb, but there's a quiet harmony to the way they lean into each other, to the way they speak, that is almost soothing. Rob's questions are intrusive, unnecessary. Nel's are exploratory, inviting.

Góra has been acting since 2011 and has a natural presence that grounds Erupcja's wilder inclinations. It's Charli xcx who proves to be the real surprise, though. This film marks her first major lead role after smaller parts in films like this year's Faces of Death remake or 2025's 100 Nights of Hero. (You could count this year's The Moment, in which she plays a heightened version of herself, but Erupcja gives the star a chance to show off a contemplative side.)

Despite blowing up her life and disappearing on her boyfriend, Bethany is rather quiet, and Charli xcx imbues her both with a surprising sense of warmth alongside a slippery coolness that is more befitting of the songstress' public persona. Anyone paying attention to what the brat singer has in the works, including a new horror film from genre icon Takashi Miike and roles in Greg Arakki and Cathy Yan's new features, should be excited about what she's doing here.

At a slight 71 minutes (and despite its title), Erupcja does not deal in emotional extremes. Ohs directs his actors to quietly confident performances, telling a simple story of small implosions that, though leading to life-changing decisions, feel inevitable and even comfortable, rather than destructive. The warm embrace of a fresh start has never looked so exhilarating.

Erupcja releases in theaters in New York and LA on April 17.

Release Date June 17, 2026

Runtime 71 minutes

Director Pete Ohs

Writers Charli XCX, Jeremy O. Harris, Lena Góra, Pete Ohs, Will Madden

Producers Charli XCX, Jeremy O. Harris, Pete Ohs, Josh Godfrey, Luke Arreguin

Cast

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