The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System
Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and selling drugs.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The city can be filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and monetary insecurity. Threats from dubious individuals in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the dread of institutional observation and jail time, represented by the constant sight of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have been failed by the social system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant exploration into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a harsh urban landscape.
