Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System
Capturing the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of 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 late-night excursion with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for temporary happiness.
"The city can be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and financial instability. Threats from shady figures in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the dread of state surveillance and incarceration, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the established structure. The film functions as a moving look into making ends meet, found community, and the search for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.
