The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from 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 night on the town with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is physical and passionate, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The city can be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about government monitoring and incarceration, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have been failed by the system. The film stands as a poignant look into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.