Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Evoking the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama zooms in on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous 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 Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and touching naivety. To his customers, 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 vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape can be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and monetary insecurity. Threats from shady figures in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the dread of institutional observation and jail time, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film stands as a heartfelt examination into making ends meet, chosen family, and the search for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
