The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Evoking the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The city might be riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the underworld seem minor next to the dread of state surveillance and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the social system. The film stands as a poignant exploration into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for self within a harsh urban landscape.
