Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Understanding Rather Than Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The urban landscape are filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and economic precarity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the fear of government monitoring and imprisonment, represented by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film functions as a poignant exploration into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of self within a harsh urban landscape.
