Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Capturing the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and selling drugs.
A Study of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape might be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and economic precarity. Intimidation from shady figures in the underworld seem minor next to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have been failed by the established structure. The film stands as a moving exploration into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the quest for identity within a demanding urban landscape.
