The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order

Channelling the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (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 night on the town with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and selling drugs.

A Study of Understanding Instead of Exploitation

The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the hectic energy of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people grasp at one another for momentary bliss.

"The urban landscape might be fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."

A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the shadow economy seem minor next to the anxiety about government monitoring and jail time, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers in the area.

Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the established structure. The film stands as a heartfelt examination into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a harsh urban landscape.