Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System

Evoking the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama zooms in 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; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an evening out with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and selling drugs.

A Study of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.

In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people hold fast to one another for temporary happiness.

"The city might be filled with danger, yet they are where they can find their own family, too."

A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control

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 shady figures in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about state surveillance and imprisonment, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.

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, chosen family, and the pursuit of identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.