The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System
Evoking the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the innocent 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 encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.
A Study of Understanding Rather Than Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The city are filled with danger, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and financial instability. Dangers posed by shady figures in the underworld pale in comparison to the fear of government monitoring and jail time, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film stands as a moving look into survival, found community, and the search for self within a harsh urban landscape.