Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Channelling the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The streets can be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the dread of government monitoring and incarceration, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have been failed by the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt look into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
