Before he became Anthony Bourdain, he was just Tony. Only his mother calls him by his birth name.
Matt Johnson's “Tony” follows a young Tony (Dominic Sessa) through his one magical summer in Provincetown, plunging into the restaurant industry as a kitchen hand at a small restaurant.
He has always wanted to be a writer more than a restaurant worker, but most of the time he's just an aimless teenager. His trip from New Jersey to Provincetown starts as a way to follow and lure a girl he liked from school, stalking her like the romantic he thinks he is, until fate turns him into a tourist with no money to his name.
His desperation leads him to an unassuming restaurant owned by Ciro (Antonio Banderas, in a remarkable performance, and the best candidate to play an older Bourdain should they ever make that film), who takes Tony under his wing and teaches him the trade of kitchen work, and the ways of living that come with it.
“Tony” only follows this formative period in Bourdain's life. It's breezy and warm, as most coming-of-age films go, but its strength as a biopic lies in how it distances itself from the idea of who Bourdain is. The crumbs are there, the rebellious, offbeat persona that Dominic Sessa captures so well, but for most of the runtime it feels like watching a regular guy on screen.
An hour in, the film settles into a slice-of-life story, with Tony finally finding his groove in unfamiliar territory. Leo Woodall brings a restless energy as Tony's co-worker at the restaurant, teaching him to embrace a bit of irresponsibility in work that tends toward chaos. “Tony” ends on a loose note, leaving the impression that the best parts of this story are still ahead, the part where Tony becomes Anthony Bourdain.
I liked that the film ends before that moment, before the desperate writer becomes a renowned chef and television personality. “Tony” has enough charm to be an entertaining story on its own, and it's better off left that way.
Rating: Tony gets ★★★⯪☆
“Tony” is now showing in New Zealand cinemas.
Featured images from A24.
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