🔗 Share this article The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order Channelling the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the wide-eyed young man finds solace in the arms of others. On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and narcotics trafficking. A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness. In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people cling on to one another for momentary bliss. "The city might be filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too." A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about government monitoring and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area. Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the system. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt look into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.