The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now going by the name of Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The urban landscape are fraught with peril, yet they are the place 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 envy and financial instability. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the system. The film functions as a moving examination into resilience, chosen family, and the search for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
