Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Channelling the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; deserted by his parents, the impressionable 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 (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The city are filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the fear of institutional observation and imprisonment, represented by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the social system. The film functions as a poignant exploration into resilience, chosen family, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
