Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order

Capturing 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 ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.

On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and selling drugs.

A Study of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.

"The streets are riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."

A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control

Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and economic precarity. Threats from nefarious characters in the underworld seem minor next to the fear of government monitoring and jail time, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.

Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film functions as a poignant examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.