When most people write their memoirs, they might be kinder to themselves than someone writing about them would be. Or at the very least give their younger selves the benefit of hindsight. Anthony Bourdain’s memoir “Kitchen Confidential” has the beloved chef and world traveler viewing his younger self less kindly, most famously saying “I was, to be frank, a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive, and thoughtless young lout, and badly in need of a good ass-kicking.” That sentence seems to be what “Tony” is all about, and what co-writer/director Matt Johnson (“Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” “Blackberry”) has latched onto in his portrayal of the man.
Set in the summer of 1975, the film follows 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain, played by Dominic Sessa (“The Holdovers,” “Now You See Me: Now You Don't”), who decides to run away from home to Provincetown, Massachusetts to follow his high school crush Nancy, played by Emilia Jones (“CODA,” “Task”). Soon after arriving, he finds himself out of money and appeals to the head Chef, played by Antonio Banderas (“The Mask of Zorro,” “Puss in Boots”), of local restaurant The Flagship to sleep on his back porch. While working as a dishwasher in the Flagship, he begins to befriend the kitchen staff, including Sal, played by Leo Woodall (“Tuner,” “One Day”), and discovers a love of cooking all while attempting to romance Nancy.
Most importantly, as opposed to other films in the biopic genre, “Tony” is not a film looking to encompass all of Bourdain’s life or ethos into a two-hour movie. Rather, it takes the smarter approach in capturing who he was before and during the summer that set him on the path to become the person he was known for being. It results in a more natural and calm film, one that maintains its breezy summertime nature throughout. It feels like someone telling you the story of their past summer, rather than having a life summarized at you. Sure, some of it is fictionalized, some characters are amalgamations of multiple people, and it might have some conveniences, but the script from Johnson, Matthew Miller (“Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” “Blackberry”), Lou Howe (“Gabriel”), and Todd Bartels is all in the service of capturing who Tony was. And in that it wildly succeeds. Arguably its best aspect though is the simple commitment to the strength of the story and character work; if you have no idea who Anthony Bourdain is, your enjoyment of the story won’t change.
Sessa is virtually perfect. As you stick with him and slowly watch him turn from a, to quote Bourdain, “thoughtless young lout” into someone who cares more about the people around him, it turns this performance into a truly special little piece of acting. It feels natural, avoiding any showy monologues or big flourishes, instead drilling into the humanity at the core of a man like this. Banderas is also fantastic, with a grounded and gravely role that reminds us how good he can be when in a drama as straight forward as this. That doesn’t downplay the work he’s doing here, and he and Sessa are incredible together. Jones is great and effortlessly charming as Nancy, and she lights up the screen whenever she appears. Woodall’s role is more minor, but he punctuates the film whenever he appears, holding himself up as a saltier, twisted mirror to Tony and his potential future.
The easy, breezy Provincetown summertime season is perfectly captured by Michael Bauman’s (“One Battle After Another,” “Phantom Thread”) cinematography and eye for sunsets. The picturesque Massachusetts seaside town is often given a warm golden haze as Tony continues his adventure. The musical score by Jay McCarroll (“Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” “Blackberry”) is wonderfully understated and melancholic, underscoring the beach landscapes with a prevailing sense of bittersweetness. Really, at the core of this film is that sense of bittersweetness; you’re watching a man realizing what he wants to do for the rest of his life, which will inevitably lead him away from everything else around him. That journey is a melancholic and bittersweet one, but never without joy at its core.
It's easy to see why a director as idiosyncratic as Matt Johnson would be attracted to a project like this. Not only does he have a penchant for movies about scrappy men making it up as they go along, but this is also far less of a traditional biopic than one might expect. Thanks to its fantastic cast, its summertime haze and locale, and its focus on exhibiting the vibes of the man and this tale rather than summarizing the person, it makes this melancholic little slice of sea-side life a pure cinematic treat. 5/5
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