Matt Johnson’s biographical drama Tony is a cinematic memoir of celebrated writer, traveler, and food connoisseur Anthony Bourdain as a young man. When Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) fails to earn a fellowship he was counting on, instead of going back to school at Vassar, he follows his crush, Nancy (Emilia Jones), to Provincetown, Mass. When he sees that Nancy has a summer paramour, he wanders into a bar and drinks himself blind. After drunkenly harassing the bartender, he is thrown into the street, where he is robbed while sleeping it off.

Bourdain is taken in by the owner of the bar, called The Flagship, a man known only as Chef (Antonio Banderas). Chef allows him to sleep in a hammock on his porch, and gives him a job washing dishes. This allows Tony to stay in Provincetown, pursue Nancy, and get wasted with new buddy Sal (Leo Woodall). Sal is a whirlwind that sweeps Tony along in his wake. He’s a feral primate with criminal impulses who lives on drugs and sex, who is trying to f**k his way through the female population of Cape Cod. Tony learns the ways of the world through Sal. He has a more sophisticated relationship with Chef, who teaches him to cook, to behave like a gentleman, to respect time, and to honor old traditions like the community clambake. His time in the kitchen of The Flagship ignites a passion for the restaurant world that became the engine of his whole life.

Tony in this film isn’t the erudite tastemaker of later years. This proto-Anthony is, by his own description: “… a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout, and badly in need of a good a*s-kicking.” That’s who stumbles off the ferry. The script was adapted from the first few chapters of Bourdain’s seminal book about the seedy, wonderful underworld of restaurant life in New York: Kitchen Confidential. Artistic license was taken, but the essence of his time in P-town is intact.

Dominic Sessa came from nowhere to star in The Holdovers in 2023. He was chosen from a student casting call at Deerfield Academy.  Starring opposite character actor Paul Giamatti, his role is soulful and compelling.

“… This Bourdain isn’t the erudite tastemaker of later years …”

His performance in Tony is sophisticated and mature (unlike the character), far beyond what one would expect from a 24-year-old. His chemistry with Banderas is the kind of magic you can’t train for. Banderas himself still has the charm and sparkle that tells an audience they’re in for a good film.

Cinematography was a slam-dunk given the scenic location. DP Michael Bauman took full advantage of Cape Cod sunsets and the colorful streets of a tourist town. The soundtrack is a work of curating art centering the audience on the tone of the time and place, featuring perfect selections like Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones), Girlfriend (Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers), and Last Train to London (ELO).

To fans who followed Bourdain’s career and saw something aspirational about his life, his death by suicide in 2018 was a vicious gut punch. His gift was an ability to express an open heart, but wrapped in the armor of cynicism and street savvy. I haven’t been able to watch Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, nor have I gone back to No Reservations or Parts Unknown.

Bourdain was the friend so cool that you looked to him to see if you’re doing it right. Of course, the sadness of losing his presence was accompanied by cold terror in the thought that if someone like Bourdain can fall, then we mere mortals don’t stand a chance. We just have to keep passing the open windows. There’s a darkness hanging over this tale, knowing how Bourdain died, but it doesn’t go too far down that hole.

Johnson has given us the prequel to a life. This is Anthony Bourdain choosing life and the world, finding his place in it through hard lessons, wild times, and good people he learned from in those early days.

Learn more at the official A24 Tony website.