Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape might be filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the underworld pale in comparison to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the social system. The film stands as a moving look into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of identity within a demanding urban landscape.
