The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Evoking the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (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 late-night excursion with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy 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 customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The city might be fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and financial instability. Intimidation from shady figures in the underworld are overshadowed by the anxiety about institutional observation and incarceration, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film functions as a heartfelt examination into survival, found community, and the search for identity within a demanding urban landscape.
