The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Capturing the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed 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 discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. 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 hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The streets might be riddled with risk, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the anxiety about institutional observation and jail time, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film stands as a heartfelt look into survival, chosen family, and the pursuit of purpose within a harsh urban landscape.
