Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System

Evoking the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.

On an night on the town with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.

A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism

The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people grasp at one another for fleeting joy.

"The urban landscape might be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."

A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the underworld seem minor next to the dread of institutional observation and jail time, represented by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.

Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a moving look into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.