The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (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 lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The city might be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film functions as a poignant look into resilience, chosen family, and the quest for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
