Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Capturing the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
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 adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets can be 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 guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and financial instability. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about state surveillance and imprisonment, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant exploration into making ends meet, chosen family, and the quest for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
