Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Channelling the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, overflowing with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for momentary bliss.
"The urban landscape are filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and economic precarity. Threats from dubious individuals in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the fear of institutional observation and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into survival, chosen family, and the quest for identity within a demanding urban landscape.
