Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama zooms in on those who inhabit the outskirts of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and selling drugs.
A Study of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets might be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the shadow economy seem minor next to the anxiety about government monitoring and imprisonment, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film functions as a moving exploration into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for identity within a harsh urban landscape.
