Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Evoking the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for temporary happiness.
"The city can be riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and financial instability. Threats from shady figures in the underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about government monitoring and jail time, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film stands as a moving examination into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a demanding urban landscape.
