11/12 ForReel Score | 4.5/5 Stars

Tony tells the story of a young Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) running away from home in pursuit of something greater (and a crush), landing in Provincetown, Massachusetts for a Summer. He’s immediately presented as incredibly self-serving and narcissistic, tunnel visioned into maintaining this image of himself to keep people from seeing him as someone without achievement. Director Matt Johnson uses this film to remind us that discovering the person you are all on your own is the hardest thing a person can do. You can’t force it, but you can’t just wait for the realization to come to you either. Tony as a film embraces the idea that once you learn who you are in relation to the world, you’re on the path to becoming the fullest version of yourself.

Tony is unlike any biopic in recent memory. Rather than covering the great highs of Bourdain’s career, the entire film covers a single formative summer, predating his time as a chef, where he works at a small seafood bar run by a mysterious chef (Antonio Banderas). The movie doesn’t constantly remind you of Bourdain’s greatness, instead asking you to see him at his worst in what’s ultimately an inspiring path to change.

The movie starts with Bourdain applying for a writing fellowship in New York. Before waiting for a response, he immediately just runs with the idea that he’s already gotten it. He runs into a girl named Nancy (Emilia Jones) and tells her about his fellowship (and how he’s already gotten it). She tells him she’s spending the summer in Provincetown. Tony later gets the call that he was rejected for the fellowship, and his first instinct is to play it like he was accepted for it. It’s one of our first real looks into his mind. To this point, he’s a very mindful and quick-thinking young man, so it’s the first time we’re having to see him process information that’s tough for him. His defense mechanism of perseverance prevails, and he plays it cool around everyone, only to fist fight drywall in his room after. His emotions rage, he just doesn’t have any kind of outlet. In response to this, he decides to follow Nancy on her trip to Cape Cod under the guise of that being the location of his writing fellowship.

Tony is a coming-of-age story with a focus on the importance of mentorship and guidance when you’re at a crossroads in life. Antonio Banderas steals the show as Bourdain’s silent yet talented mentor. Banderas’ character owns the seafood bar that Tony finds himself drunk at one night. Tony is thrown out, but despite that, the chef hires him as a dishwasher. Banderas is such a strong contrast to Sessa’s Bourdain. Where Tony is full of himself to the point of combustion, his soon-to-be mentor is humble, skilled, and principled. Banderas brings a quiet believability to the role and is just oozing passion every time he’s on screen. It’s someone with a true, genuine love for something placed with someone who is too sure of some fabricated idea of themselves. It’s a fascinating dynamic that Banderas and Sessa sell incredibly well.

Bourdain’s other mentor for the first chunk of the movie is Leo Woodall’s Sal. Sal is another chef at Banderas’ restaurant who’s on a much darker path. He steals, lies, and is generally just a bad influence. Bourdain’s journey between the two mentors is an interesting one to dissect. He’s in close proximity to someone who’s personifying the natural endpoint of his behavior while also near someone with the ability to change him and teach him to be better and truly love something. The three play off each other in an exciting and satisfying way that keeps the film chugging along.

Johnson works with his usual collaborators here, but there’s some fresh faces as well. Jay McCarrol is obviously back on the music and he brings an incredibly fluid and provocative score with him that elevates every scene it’s incorporated in. Jared Raab is noticeably absent here, with the role of cinematographer going to the talented Michael Bauman instead. While Raab’s personal style is missed, Bauman’s work here is what puts a bow on the whole project. Every shot is eye-catching and gorgeous. He plays around a lot with the depth of certain shots in the film, putting Tony in the foreground when he’s in a groove and pushing him to the back when he’s questioning himself and his journey. Johnson had an excellent team backing him up here and they all really brought the entire movie together.

Tony is an almost perfect biopic that plays through this impactful coming of age cloak, and it’s the best possible way this story could’ve been told. Where most other movies would have taken you through Bourdain’s entire career, Matt Johnson and company elect to keep it simple. It’s about a boy learning to love something bigger than himself and there’s so much passion behind selling how integral that is to growing as a person. Your life is your own. That doesn’t mean you won’t need a little push every now and then to find what’s really right for you.

Movie Review: Matt Johnson Serves A Fresh and Unique Biopic with "Tony"