Anthony Bourdain, the late chef turned journalist, was a man who appeared level-headed, calm and content in all his work.
His effortless demeanour was able to make his interviewees comfortable, with hundreds of meals shared with everyday people having the same effect as touring Vietnam with Barack Obama.
Yet, Bourdain was not always the suave and secure chef he shaped himself into, but instead a cocky and facetious 18-year-old running away from a troubled home, chasing a writing fellowship in New York City.
“I was – to be frank – a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout, badly in need of a good ass-kicking,” Bourdain wrote in his 2002 memoir Kitchen Confidential.
The same quote is used to set the scene and lead us into the world of young Tony.
Director Matt Johnson’s film follows Bourdain through the summer of 1975, as he finds himself in his first kitchen job in Providence.
Sessa, who brokeout in 2023’s The Holdovers, gives a bold performance, showcasing Bourdain as a playful and snotty young man with a lying problem.
With his bouncy curls and slick New Jersey accent, Sessa’s slightly over-the-top approach surprises the audience as his presence can sometimes feel goofy, presenting a version of Bourdain that feels completely different from the man audiences came to know.
In some respects, that is what makes the film feel so special: viewers are shown a version of Bourdain they have never seen, contrasted with the man they know so well.
Joining Sessa is a strong ensemble led by Antonio Banderas, Leo Woodall and Emilia Jones.
Woodall takes on the role of an archetypal angry cook and performs with absolute conviction.
He brings a surprising charm to the otherwise aggressive line cook.
Banderas, on the other hand, delivers a reserved and calm approach to the head chef Ciro, who takes Bourdain under his wing.
The performance is considered, understated and incredibly powerful, reminding the audience of a teacher they loved growing up.
Jones plays Nancy, Bourdain’s love interest in the film, whom he would go to the ends of the earth for.
He is magnetic on screen and a great force to ground Sessa’s domineering performance through soft sarcasm and great chemistry.
Period pieces always risk becoming tacky, with the 70s often exaggerated through horrible wigs and overblown costumes.
However, set designer Ryan Warren Smith and costume designer Chloe Karmin avoid those traps.
Smith’s Cape Cod design is beautifully crafted, with warm wood tones appearing naturally and never detracting from the scenes.
The featured restaurant ‘The Flagship’ is beautifully outdated, with subtly aged equipment, stained wooden interiors, dull neon lighting and walls decorated with medals and flags that make it all feel homely.
The fashion is purposeful, with Sessa wearing a great leather jacket and a pair of dark bootcut jeans for most of the film, his wardrobe reflecting the simple style of the future Bourdain people are familiar with.
Emilia Jones is styled gracefully, wearing fitted T-shirts and tame patterns, everything feeling subtly ’70s with her hair in a loose shag cut.
What makes this film so warm is Johnson’s directing.
Johnson is not a stranger to biopics, with his 2023 film BlackBerry hilariously exploring the historic rise and fall of the cell phone company.
However, Johnson has never approached a subject as sensitive and personal as Tony.
In Tony, Johnson creates a confined sense of chaos and calm, delightfully curating the classic busy kitchen environment whilst also capturing solitude and connection.
Johnson’s shots are mostly off-centre, a technique that brings you into the world but keeps you at arm’s length.
It keeps the audience slightly on edge searching for a symmetrical moment, but nothing too jarring to take you out of the film, creating a subtle sense that the audience is being deliberately teased politely.
Jay McCarrol’s score strikes the right tone, using dark, sombre piano notes to drive the film’s more dramatic moments.
The simple compositions are used to fill moments of travel and reflection, in what feels like a homage to the countless scenes of Bourdain sightseeing in his series ‘Parts Unknown’ and ‘No Reservations’.
McCarrol brings a sense of restraint to Tony, avoiding obvious 70s musical tropes and instead reinforcing the film’s simplicity.
It’s not a biopic; it is a moment in time.
It’s a snobby kid with nothing, trying to find his way in an unfamiliar environment.
It creates a world of human connection, drug abuse, unrequited love and sex, but presents it all with restraint.
It isn’t flashy – instead it is real.
Tony showcases a part of Anthony Bourdain people hadn’t met: the misfit writer who was hungry for world experience in a world that didn’t want him.
It’s thoughtful, funny, honest and a little predictable, and reminds me why I don’t work in hospitality anymore.
Clare Perrott
Clare Perrott is a Journalism and Broadcasting student at ECU with a strong passion for arts, culture and education.
