Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable 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 meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for temporary happiness.
"The urban landscape are filled with danger, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and financial instability. Threats from nefarious characters in the underworld pale in comparison to the fear of state surveillance and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the system. The film stands as a moving look into resilience, chosen family, and the pursuit of identity within a harsh urban landscape.
