The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System
Channelling the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge 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 hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape might be filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and economic precarity. Threats from shady figures in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the dread of state surveillance and jail time, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt look into survival, found community, and the pursuit of self within a demanding urban landscape.
