The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Channelling the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Study of Understanding 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 brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for momentary bliss.
"The city can be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and economic precarity. Intimidation from nefarious characters in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of self within a harsh urban landscape.
