Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and drug dealing.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The city can be filled with danger, yet they are where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by jealousy and financial instability. Threats from nefarious characters in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the dread of institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the lost people who have been failed by the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a moving examination into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.