🔗 Share this article The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order Channelling the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others. On an evening out with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work 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 melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness. In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for momentary bliss. "The streets might be riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too." A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the fear of government monitoring and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area. Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film ultimately serves as a moving exploration into making ends meet, chosen family, and the pursuit of purpose within a demanding urban landscape.