Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Evoking the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets can be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the dread of institutional observation and imprisonment, represented by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the lost people who have been failed by the social system. The film functions as a moving exploration into making ends meet, found community, and the quest for identity within a harsh urban landscape.
