Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System
Evoking the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes 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 innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The streets are fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and financial instability. Threats from shady figures in the underworld are overshadowed by the dread of government monitoring and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film functions as a poignant examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of self within a unforgiving urban landscape.
