The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the wide-eyed young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people cling on to one another for temporary happiness.
"The urban landscape might be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the anxiety about government monitoring and incarceration, symbolized by the constant sight of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant look into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
