Tony is A24’s biopic about celebrity chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain. Unlike many biopics, such as the recent Michael or Bohemian Rhapsody, Tony elects to focus its biopic on a very specific moment in Bourdain’s life, a period long before fame. Does this coming-of-age story work, or would focusing on Bourdain’s bigger struggles have been a wiser idea? Let’s find out.
Directed by Matt Johnson (who is having a bit of a year, having also directed Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie earlier this year, Tony stars Dominic Sessa as the titular lead, an egotistical, troubled, and academically challenged youth. He’s 19 years old during the course of the movie and is hellbent on attending a summer fellowship at Vassar College that would net him great experience as a writer, his ultimate goal. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get it; but that doesn’t stop him from telling his family and Nancy (Tasks‘ Emilia Jones), the girl he’s trying to impress, that he has indeed secured it. Tony does the only rational thing when almost at rock bottom: runs away from home and stalks Nancy to Provincetown, a beachside town in Cape Cod, to try and win her over with his faux writing accomplishments. This, of course, does not work, and after passing out drunk on the street and getting robbed, Tony has no money left to get back on the ferry home. This, in turn, leads him to pick up a gig at a local restaurant owned and operated by the enigmatic Chef (Antonio Banderas) after lying about his past restaurant experience.
What follows is a coming-of-age story of sorts, but one that doesn’t shy away from the fact that Bourdain was kind of a terrible person at 19 years old. The movie doesn’t glorify him and is pretty blunt about his horrid behaviour. This is a youth who was doing drugs in the kitchen, lying to everyone, and generally being a misery to be around. It is honestly hard to root for him, and while the movie doesn’t do a classic (cliche) storybeat of making him the good guy by the end, it does at least open the door for some level of redemption down the line. But whether he knows it or not, or is willing to admit it even, Tony is on the Hero’s Journey that Campbell wrote about and there is a natural arc to the character, even if elements of his biography, Kitchen Confidential, are altered or straight up manufactured for the sake of a narrative drama in the film. So yes, this isn’t per se a 1:1 biopic about Tony’s life; it’s definitely inspired by it, but there are a lot of creative liberties to help make this movie work. But the spirit remains the same.
What works in Tony’s favour is that this is a movie that works even if you know nothing about Bourdain. It’s a story about rebellious youth, coming of age, discovery of passion, and more. It just so happens to be about a very famous person, just in their formative years. Sessa is great at filling Tony’s shoes as a wayward rebel, and kudos to him for making his portrayal of Tony so engaging despite him being so hard to root for. There’s hints of the depression that would haunt Bourdain in later years, but they’re ultimately shadows and never become part of the greater narrative. But I think it’s Banderas who steals the film as the character known simply as Chef. He owns and runs the Flagship restaurant and serves as a mentor for Tony as he learns the ropes in the kitchen, which will ultimately set him on a path to bigger and better things in the culinary world. He’s ultimately the heart of the movie and the character you can empathize with the most. Jones rounds out the core cast as Nancy, the focus of Tony’s desire in the movie, which means she’s often the one at the opposite end of his BS more often than not. Her character does feel more like a plot device, but Jones still gives a good performance even with the limited amount of range her character is given.
Tony is a movie that depicts the big personalities and vulgar nature of the food industry. I’ve thought of this movie as the lovechild of The Lords of Dogtown, The Bear, and The Way, Way Back. It works both for fans of Bourdain, as well as those who know nothing about him. He’s a hard protagonist to root for, but there’s a blunt earnestness to the movie at the same time. I think it could’ve benefited by being a bit longer, just to flesh some elements out, but it’s a solid biopic that captures a time and place, irrelevant of the subject.
