The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Channelling the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape might 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 both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the dread of institutional observation and jail time, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film stands as a moving look into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the search for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
