The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is physical and passionate, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape might 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 connection is thrown off course by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the anxiety about state surveillance and imprisonment, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film stands as a poignant examination into making ends meet, found community, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
