🔗 Share this article Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System Capturing the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others. On an evening out with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and narcotics trafficking. A Study of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care. In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for fleeting joy. "The city might be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too." A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and economic precarity. Intimidation from nefarious characters in the underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about state surveillance and imprisonment, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds. Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film stands as a moving examination into making ends meet, found community, and the pursuit of purpose within a demanding urban landscape.