Movie Review: ‘Tony’ | Moviefone

Dominic Sessa in ‘Tony’. Photo: A24.

Opening in theaters on August 7 is ‘Tony,’ directed by Matt Johnson, and starring Dominic Sessa, Emilia Jones, Dagmara Domińczyk, Rich Sommer, Stavros Halkias, Leo Woodall, and Antonio Banderas.

“”I was — to be frank — a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout, and badly in need of a good ass-kicking.””

Release Date: Aug 21, 2026

Run Time: 1 hr 46 min

Related Article: Rose Byrne and Dominic Sessa Talk ‘Tow’ and the True Story It’s Based On

Initial Thoughts

(L to R) Dominic Sessa and Emilia Jones in ‘Tony’. Photo: A24.

Biopics tend to follow one of two well-worn paths: either they try frantically to document the subject’s entire life, often resulting in a race from event to event with little context or depth, or they focus on one specific period in that person’s history, usually documenting a transitional period of some kind that marked a definitive turning point in their life.

The danger with the latter is that the narrow window of events may not always connect for audiences to the wider story. ‘Tony’ thankfully tells what feels like a complete account even though it only takes place over the course of a single summer in the early life of Anthony Bourdain, the celebrity chef who went on to become a best-selling author and a TV documentarian.

Directed by Matt Johnson (who also helmed the excellent ‘BlackBerry’ and the well-received ‘Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie’), ‘Tony’ doesn’t delve into Bourdain’s rise to fame or the struggles that led to his untimely, tragic passing. But the seeds of both are planted in this film, in which a young Bourdain, played by a fantastic Dominic Sessa, transforms from an arrogant, compulsive, entitled teenager to a young man with a sense of purpose and a newfound maturity.

Story and Direction

(L to R) Antonio Banderas and Dominic Sessa in ‘Tony’. Photo: A24.

It’s 1975 and Tony Bourdain is attending Vassar College, where he’s hoping to get a grant so that he can move to New York City and work on his alleged novel. Tony has a habit of lying to everyone, from the professors considering his proposal to the young woman he meets at a party to his own parents, and after his grant is denied, he lies to everyone about that (no such novel exists either) while heading impulsively to Cape Cod’s Provincetown, to track down Nancy (Emilia Jones), the girl from the party who’s working a summer job there.

To his dismay, she has a boyfriend, so Tony ends up drunk and broke in a local restaurant named Flagship, where his aggressive behavior gets him thrown out. The owner, however, known only as Chef (Antonio Banderas), takes pity on him, lets him sleep it off on his porch, and gives him a job as a dishwasher in the restaurant – a job that Tony feels is beneath him. That changes, however, as Tony begins to like Chef, his co-workers, and being around the kitchen itself – even if Chef’s oyster shucker, the swaggering Sal (Leo Woodall), soon starts appealing to Tony’s worst instincts, especially when it comes to drink and drugs.

As Johnson proved with ‘BlackBerry’ (which he co-wrote, as he did here on ‘Tony’ with three others), he has an unerring eye for both character and setting. Tony himself is both difficult to like and yet possessed of an insouciant charm – you can’t help but enjoy his presence even when you know he’s lying his ass off. He’s also fiercely intelligent and, in his own way, righteous, although he constantly gives in to impulses that lead him into quick gratification, trouble, or both. Yet his meeting with Chef effects a gradual change on his life, as his half-baked idea of becoming some literary giant begins to slowly give away to an appreciation of a different yet still creative kind of craft.

(L to R) Director Matt Johnson and Dominic Sessa on the set of ‘Tony’. Photo: A24.

We’re not always fans of the montage in modern movies, and ‘Tony’ dips into that overused technique more than once to show the passage of time. Yet we also get a real feel for the camaraderie and team spirit in the kitchen itself, with Chef as both the stern commander and father figure to his staff – especially to Tony, whose own father is almost too deferential. And through the depth of Chef’s own almost spiritual passion for food, we get a sense of just how important the craft of cooking is – and why it’s a bridge to the world that Bourdain himself would cross many, many times later in his career.

But ‘Tony’ doesn’t even touch on that, with only the very last scenes (and final line) in the movie hinting at the professional path he ultimately takes. How much of this particular movie is true to the actual events is also unimportant: ‘Tony’ is simply a terrifically composed coming-of-age story told with warmth, attention to detail, and emotional depth.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Dominic Sessa and Leo Woodall in ‘Tony’. Photo: A24.

After a striking film debut in 2023’s ‘The Holdovers’ opposite Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa is outstanding here as Anthony Bourdain. With his mop of dark curls, he’s not the gray-haired, rugged-looking world traveler most people know, but he’s got the piercing eyes, the rumbling voice, and flashes of the man’s physicality. Tony’s curiosity, overconfidence and insecurity wage a battle throughout the film via Sessa’s face and mannerisms, creating a tremendous portrait of an awkward boy becoming a man.

Meanwhile, veteran Antonio Banderas gives one of his best performances in recent years, playing Chef with an understated, quiet strength and humor that reveals both the steel and soul beneath his somewhat mysterious exterior. Leo Woodall is highly effective as the devil on Tony’s shoulder opposite Chef’s angel, while the rest of the kitchen staff and other supporting cast provide a colorful assemblage of kitchen renegades, summertime eccentrics, and local characters.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Antonio Banderas and Dominic Sessa in ‘Tony’. Photo: A24.

Whether you’re a fan of Bourdain’s writings and TV shows or not, whether his exploration of cuisines and cultures from all over the world touched or impacted you in some way, ‘Tony’ is a film that’s easy to enjoy, and – dare we say – a juicy, rich cinematic meal.

The performances by Sessa, Banderas, and the rest of the cast, the period flavor and tone of the mid-1970s, and the economical way in which Johnson tells the tale and captures the vibe of working in a kitchen on Cape Cod at the height of summer all make this film instantly accessible. And it’s a captivating story about a child just starting to learn how to become an adult, while realizing that his true passions in life could somehow all point in the same direction. While it’s a bit melancholy in light of the path that Bourdain ultimately took, ‘Tony’ is, in the end, full of life and optimism.

‘Tony’ receives a score of 85 out of 100.

(L to R) Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas and Stavros Halkias in ‘Tony’. Photo: A24.

What is the plot of ‘Tony’?

A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.