The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Channelling the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and vibrant storefronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for temporary happiness.
"The city might be riddled with risk, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and economic precarity. Threats from dubious individuals in the underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about institutional observation and imprisonment, represented by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the established structure. The film stands as a moving examination into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for self within a demanding urban landscape.
