The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Capturing the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and drug dealing.
A Study of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for temporary happiness.
"The streets are fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about institutional observation and imprisonment, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film stands as a moving look into survival, chosen family, and the quest for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.
