The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System
Channelling the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Study of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The city are fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by jealousy and monetary insecurity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the underworld are overshadowed by the anxiety about institutional observation and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film stands as a poignant look into making ends meet, chosen family, and the search for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
