Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy 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 endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for momentary bliss.
"The city might be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the underworld pale in comparison to the dread of government monitoring and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film functions as a heartfelt exploration into making ends meet, chosen family, and the quest for self within a demanding urban landscape.
