Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Evoking the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets might be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and financial instability. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the anxiety about government monitoring and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the system. The film stands as a heartfelt exploration into survival, chosen family, and the search for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.
