Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama zooms in on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The urban landscape are filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated 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 possessiveness and economic precarity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the dread of government monitoring and jail time, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film stands as a heartfelt look into making ends meet, chosen family, and the quest for purpose within a demanding urban landscape.
