🔗 Share this article Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed young man seeks comfort in the arms of others. On an night on the town with his rowdy group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and drug dealing. A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also moments of care. In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for fleeting joy. "The streets are riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too." A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and financial instability. Threats from dubious individuals in the underworld seem minor next to the dread of institutional observation and jail time, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area. Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film stands as a heartfelt look into survival, chosen family, and the search for self within a harsh urban landscape.