The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Channelling the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The city can be filled with danger, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and monetary insecurity. Threats from dubious individuals in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the dread of state surveillance and jail time, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant exploration into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
