The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an constantly evolving metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor 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 night on the town with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people hold fast to one another for temporary happiness.
"The urban landscape can be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and financial instability. Intimidation from shady figures in the shadow economy seem minor next to the anxiety about institutional observation and imprisonment, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant exploration into survival, found community, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
