The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System

Capturing the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the impressionable 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 strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and drug dealing.

A Study of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism

Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.

"The streets can be filled with danger, yet they are the place 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 relationship is derailed by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the fear of government monitoring and incarceration, represented by the constant sight of police officers on patrol.

Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have been failed by the established structure. The film stands as a poignant examination into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the search for identity within a harsh urban landscape.