Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System
Capturing the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people cling on to one another for momentary bliss.
"The streets might be filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about state surveillance and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the established structure. The film functions as a heartfelt examination into resilience, found community, and the pursuit of self within a demanding urban landscape.
