Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System

Capturing the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama centres 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 seeks comfort in the arms of others.

On an late-night excursion with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and selling drugs.

A Study of Empathy Instead of Exploitation

The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the hectic energy of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people grasp at one another for temporary happiness.

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

A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control

Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the fear of institutional observation and jail time, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.

Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the lost people who have been failed by the social system. The film stands as a poignant examination into making ends meet, chosen family, and the pursuit of self within a harsh urban landscape.