The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people cling on to one another for temporary happiness.
"The city are fraught with peril, yet they are where they can find their own family, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and financial instability. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the dread of government monitoring and incarceration, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film stands as a poignant exploration into resilience, chosen family, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
