The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System
Evoking the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The urban landscape can be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and economic precarity. Intimidation from shady figures in the underworld are overshadowed by the anxiety about government monitoring and jail time, represented by the looming presence of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into making ends meet, chosen family, and the pursuit of self within a harsh urban landscape.
