Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The city might be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by jealousy and economic precarity. Threats from nefarious characters in the underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about government monitoring and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a poignant exploration into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of identity within a demanding urban landscape.
