The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Channelling the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people hold fast to one another for temporary happiness.
"The city can be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the underworld seem minor next to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the system. The film functions as a moving exploration into making ends meet, found community, and the pursuit of self within a harsh urban landscape.
