The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and drug dealing.
A Study of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The streets might be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by jealousy and financial instability. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the fear of state surveillance and jail time, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers in the area.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the search for purpose within a demanding urban landscape.
