Anthony Bourdain has become a beloved figure internationally for how he melded food and human interest stories highlighting the working class and disadvantaged people who make restaurants and cultures go. His articulate explanation of their importance provided a new perspective for foodies and elevated the former chef as a cultural icon. The story of how he came to that point is slightly less known, but now is the subject of a film based on his early life.
Tony follows a 19-year old Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) who arrived at Cape COD while trailing a former classmate named Nancy (Emilia Jones) after being rejected for a writing fellowship in New York. Tony eventually stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen run by a formerly acclaimed Brazilian chef named Ciro (Antonio Banderas), setting off a summer that shapes the course of his life.
When we first meet Tony Bourdain, we see a young man with ambitions of being a renowned writer even if his level of maturity and planning haven’t yet caught up to his aspirations. Tony is full of angst and anxiety over his relationship with, and approval of, his mother. He’s a smooth talker who covers his fuckups with improbable stories and is willing to step on anyone to have things work out for him. His attitude toward life and others eventually comes to a point where self-reflection is needed as he works for Ciro and gets to know him and experience his kindness firsthand. Seeing how Ciro treats not only Tony but others in his orbit in the small Cape Cod kitchen causes Tony to consider who he wants to become, particularly when juxtaposed against his own behavior and that of one of Ciro’s cooks, the volatile and drug addicted Sal (Leo Woodall) who abuses everyone in his wake.
It’s a coming of age tale centered around a young man figuring out who he wants to be at a crossroads in his life when things appear as if his life could go in one of two directions, personified in this film by Ciro and Sal. Both Banderas and Woodall encapsulate the figurative devil and angel on Tony’s shoulders very well, each magnetic in their own way. Woodall portrays the allure that a devil-may-care rebel would present to a young college-aged man with all the resulting charm and cool that make it enticing at first and the dark side of drug abuse and criminality that would make an immature but ultimately good-hearted kid think twice about following his path. Woodall portrays it all magnetically and cautiously, striking the necessary balance to serve as a cautioning tale. Banderas is equally impressive as the kindhearted Ciro, deftly playing the mentor that gives Tony a new perspective and image of what could be. His caring nature and tenderness is the impetus in motivating Tony into becoming Anthony Bourdain. Sessa also depicts the development of a young, arrogant man coming into his own in a believable way that works.
Tony is an engaging coming of age story that provides a glimpse into what made the man a beloved legend. It’s a bit by the numbers, but is sure to satisfy his longtime fans interested in how he rose to prominence. The performances work and keep you interested throughout the film’s runtime.
Image: A24
