Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Channelling the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The streets are filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
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 shadow economy pale in comparison to the anxiety about government monitoring and incarceration, symbolized by the constant sight of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the quest for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.
