The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Channelling the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now going by the name of Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, overflowing with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The city might be fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and financial instability. Threats from shady figures in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the established structure. The film stands as a moving look into making ends meet, chosen family, and the search for purpose within a harsh urban landscape.
