Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Study 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 going by the name of Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, overflowing 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 fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and financial instability. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the dread of state surveillance and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film stands as a heartfelt exploration into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
