The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets are riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and economic precarity. Threats from nefarious characters in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the fear of institutional observation and imprisonment, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film stands as a heartfelt exploration into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of self within a harsh urban landscape.
