Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind 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 meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Study of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"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 simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by jealousy and financial instability. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the anxiety about institutional observation and imprisonment, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film stands as a heartfelt exploration into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for self within a harsh urban landscape.
