TONY Review: Dominic Sessa Shines as Young Anthony Bourdain

Matt Johnson’s Anthony Bourdain biopic finds a fresh angle on the cultural icon, powered by Dominic Sessa and Antonio Banderas.

Trying to create a biopic centered on the cultural icon that Anthony Bourdain became seems like a disastrous task, but ‘Tony’, Matt Johnson’s take on a 19-year-old Bourdain, cleverly focuses on a very small and influential sliver of Bourdain’s early years. Standout performances and intelligent story navigation lead to a biopic that doesn’t always avoid the tropes but still feels fresh and affecting.

In ‘Tony’, Dominic Sessa portrays the young Bourdain who travels to Cape Cod in pursuit of a girl, Nancy (Emilia Jones). Bourdain lies about having obtained a writing fellowship as a reason for being there, and inadvertently ends up working at a small restaurant under a seasoned chef (Antonio Banderas).

Everything about Sessa’s portrayal of Bourdain should make him inherently unlikable: he lies, he fights, he’s astonishingly arrogant and self-centered, and yet there’s still some unmistakably likable quality about him that leaves the audience still willing to root for him. Perhaps it’s his pairing with Banderas’ Chef, who is so kind and understanding, that audiences can see through the facade of what Bourdain is trying to depict. Sessa and Banderas have great chemistry, although Banderas could have chemistry with a spoon if the script demanded it. While Sessa adequately carries the movie, Banderas acts as the heart that holds it all together.

The 1970s Cape Cod atmosphere also brings its own watchable quality to the film, giving the biopic a fresh feel. Director Matt Johnson, along with fellow screenwriters Matthew Miller, Todd Bartels and Lou Howe, adapts the story from Bourdain’s early writing in ‘Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly’. Bourdain’s persona became so well known around the world that the decision to focus on such an early part of his life is an important one.

Matt Johnson Keeps TONY From Feeling Like a Typical Biopic

All of the narrative ins and outs of a biopic are here: we see the character have major successes and major failures. And right when you think the character is really on top, there’s another major setback. And while this sounds tropey and potentially boring, the direction and performances manage to make still it feel fresh. For example, a memorable supporting performance by Leo Woodall as a particularly bad influence on the young Bourdain goes a long way toward making Bourdain’s actions look less bad by comparison.

Verdict

‘Tony’ is a wonderful biopic held together by great performances and visuals. While it doesn’t avoid all biopic tropes, it still feels fresh and sharp despite being about one of the most well-known cultural figures, showing it was made with care and attention to detail.

TONY is now playing in theaters.

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