The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Evoking the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping 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) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The urban landscape are filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the fear of state surveillance and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.
