Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; left behind 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 crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape are riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and financial instability. Intimidation from nefarious characters in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the constant sight of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the disenfranchised individuals who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film functions as a moving examination into making ends meet, chosen family, and the pursuit of identity within a harsh urban landscape.
