Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Channelling the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets can be filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Threats from shady figures in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the dread of government monitoring and jail time, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film stands as a heartfelt look into resilience, found community, and the quest for identity within a demanding urban landscape.
