Tony Review: A Complex, Tasty Biopic
In Kitchen Confidential, the late Anthony Bourdain pulled no punches in describing his teenage self. He was, put simply, “badly in need of a good ass-kicking”. And he had one, which was turned into the early chapters of the book and has now made its way to the screen in Matt Johnson’s biopic, Tony. In today’s parlance, it’s a coming-of-age story, but it’s hard to imagine Bourdain treating such a popular phrase with anything other than contempt. The feeling lingers well after the closing credits.
When the restless, arrogant 19-year-old Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) applies for a writing fellowship, the possibility of being turned down never enters his mind, so when he’s rejected, he lies to his parents, steals his dad’s credit card and escapes to Provincetown in Massachusetts. The money soon runs out, so he brings in cash by washing pots in a seafood restaurant. As far as his chaotic colleagues are concerned, he’s the lowest of the low, but he slowly gains their respect and becomes friends with oyster shucker Sal (Leo Woodall), who introduces him to a more hedonistic lifestyle. But Tony has also convinced the chef (Antonio Banderas) that he has a genuine interest in food and starts working his way up. The direction of his life is about to change dramatically.
Tony comes with two intriguing prospects. Firstly, seeing Bourdain’s early life brought to the screen for the first time, and secondly, the prospect of seeing Sessa playing him. After breaking through spectacularly in The Holdovers (2023), this is his first lead role, one that never allows him to be off the screen. It’s a perfect piece of casting, showing that his debut three years ago was a sign of things to come. Even if there are similarities between the two roles – he’s rapidly carving out a niche when it comes to playing guys who are, shall we say, pains – this time round he shows he’s more than capable of shouldering an entire film.
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He needs to be on form, as he’s up against serious competition from Woodall in a role diametrically opposed to this year’s Tuner. In an eye-catching performance, the kitchen’s good-time-boy is cheekily charming, but when the heroin needle pierces his skin, a darker side emerges that means he’s never the same again.
With staff suffering from hangovers, vomiting into bins and never-ending piles of washing up, they all work in a kitchen that would give Gordon Ramsay a migraine. It’s the chaotic, sometimes explosive, physical centre of the movie and the narrative. The story itself is rambling and complex – since when has life run on straight, predictable lines? – but its mixture of warmth, occasional tenderness and devilish humour makes it constantly engaging. As do the moments when you could quite happily shake Tony warmly by the throat. Despite its setting, however, it isn’t all about the food, although there is one particular classic lobster dish that will make you salivate.
By concentrating on Bourdain’s earlier years, Johnson (currently in cinemas with Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie after making his name with BlackBerry) creates a respectful distance between the chef/writer’s youth and his sad demise in 2018, but hints of what was to come are inescapable and cast a dark shadow. The spirit of the man himself never seems far away, and it’s tempting to think that, were he still with us, his sense of mischief would have spurred him to make a cameo appearance. We’ll never know for sure, but with Tony putting the spotlight on the start of his career, you immediately want to dig deeper into his life as a whole.
★★★★
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In cinemas from August 14th / Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones, Leo Woodall, Stavros Halkias, Michael Jibrin / Dir: Matt Johnson / A24 /15
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