🔗 Share this article Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System Channelling the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts 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 innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others. On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and narcotics trafficking. A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care. In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people grasp at one another for momentary bliss. "The streets might be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can find their own family, too." A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about state surveillance and imprisonment, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers on patrol. Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the lost people who have been failed by the system. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt examination into making ends meet, found community, and the search for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.