Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts 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 hectic energy of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The city might be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and financial instability. Threats from nefarious characters in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the dread of institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the lost people who have been failed by the system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the search for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
