The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Capturing the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Study of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape are riddled with risk, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and financial instability. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the dread of state surveillance and incarceration, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film functions as a heartfelt examination into resilience, found community, and the pursuit of purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
