The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Channelling the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The urban landscape are fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film functions as a heartfelt examination into making ends meet, chosen family, and the quest for self within a harsh urban landscape.
