Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System
Evoking the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Study of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The city might be filled with danger, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and economic precarity. Threats from nefarious characters in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the anxiety about institutional observation and imprisonment, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the established structure. The film stands as a moving exploration into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
