The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System

Capturing the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.

On an night on the town with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow 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 prostitution and narcotics trafficking.

A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism

The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for momentary bliss.

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

A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control

Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and financial instability. Threats from shady figures in the shadow economy seem minor next to the dread of institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.

Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the established structure. The film functions as a heartfelt examination into making ends meet, chosen family, and the pursuit of identity within a harsh urban landscape.