Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The city can be filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about institutional observation and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the social system. The film functions as a poignant exploration into survival, chosen family, and the pursuit of self within a demanding urban landscape.
