Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an constantly evolving metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and drug dealing.
A Study of Understanding Rather Than Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape are riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and economic precarity. Intimidation from nefarious characters in the underworld pale in comparison to the dread of government monitoring and jail time, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt examination into survival, found community, and the search for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
