Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System
Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping 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; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for momentary bliss.
"The urban landscape might be filled with danger, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about institutional observation and incarceration, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a poignant exploration into survival, chosen family, and the search for purpose within a demanding urban landscape.
