The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Evoking the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington offers more than 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 temporary happiness.
"The streets might be riddled with risk, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the dread of government monitoring and imprisonment, represented by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have been failed by the established structure. The film functions as a heartfelt exploration into resilience, chosen family, and the pursuit of self within a demanding urban landscape.
