The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Channelling the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than 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 deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The city are fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex 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 possessiveness and economic precarity. Intimidation from shady figures in the underworld pale in comparison to the fear of institutional observation and jail time, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a moving look into making ends meet, found community, and the search for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.
