The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System
Capturing the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.
A Study of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape can be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the fear of government monitoring and jail time, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into making ends meet, found community, and the search for self within a harsh urban landscape.
