The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Capturing the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Study of Understanding 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 engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The streets might be filled with danger, yet they are where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and monetary insecurity. Threats from nefarious characters in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about state surveillance and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the social system. The film functions as a heartfelt look into survival, chosen family, and the search for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
