Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Evoking the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is physical and passionate, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Study of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people cling on to one another for temporary happiness.
"The urban landscape might be filled with danger, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner 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 are overshadowed by the dread of institutional observation and incarceration, represented by the looming presence of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the social system. The film functions as a poignant look into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the search for identity within a demanding urban landscape.
