For someone who has not worked in a kitchen, briefly worked as a bartender, and has yet to watch The Bear, this would be the environment I could picture exactly when thinking of fast paced and culinary prominent. Think about how any depiction of creatives (typically artists, musicians, actors, etcetera) and we see them suffer through trauma, loneliness, and drug and/or alcohol use. Well, if we really put our minds to it and think even harder, would we not be able to say that the discipline of the kitchen and culinary is an art in itself? So, what stops them from suffering through what our typical ‘artist’ would suffer? Nothing.
Matt Johnson has had a successful year. The release of Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie received so much appraisal and buzz. Who could have expected him to have anything more to give, and so soon? Not me. Yet, his latest film, Tony, is another wild ride at our — what could have been simple — trip to the cinema.
Anthony Bourdain, as most of us know him now, was once a simple kid from Brooklyn named Tony (Dominic Sessa). A struggling young writer living at home with his parents who clearly wish more for him. A strong sense of loneliness and desperation as he attempts to secure a writing fellowship through his college. Proving to be more difficult than he imagined, losing the scholarship he decides to run away from home.
Johnson’s adaptation of a single chapter of Bourdain’s personal book, brings his audience on a wild road trip ‘summer’. Into a new state for a girl of his dreams, Tony embarks on the adventure that will change his life. For those who know Bourdain’s story, it might not have surprised them. But for those who do not, Tony keeps you wanting to know more.
Running away from home to chase the girl of his dreams, Tony finds himself in the coastal town of Providence. Of course, the girl of his dreams Nancy (Emilia Jones) has already found another. To get her attention he lies about the fellowship and has been sent here to partake in a writing course. Along the way, he finds himself on the streets with no money and no hope. This is where he will find himself in the kitchen for the first time. Finding himself in the Chef (Antonio Banderas) hands. Taking him in and hiring him as a ‘dish boy’.
Tony is fast paced when it needs to be and slow and emotional in just the right places. The film brings us into the 1970s, and the music playing feels just right. Johnson has honed the craft and has a passion for taking his audience on a journey. It becomes as if he just assumes no one knows the story of Bourdain in any sense, and takes it from there — though some who really know the chef might say otherwise. The kitchen becomes a tough and stressful environment, and for a film to capture that essence, it must know how to make the audience feel as if they are in the character’s shoes. It brings us right up close as characters burn, cut and maim themselves for the craft. You might join them in throwing up your lunch if you cannot handle the gore and nauseous camera shots (complementary).
As Tony is inherently a film focused on one man, it is in fact two that bring the whole story together. Of course, young Tony himself, but also the Chef who takes him under his wing and trains him. Be it that Johnson crafted his film from Bourdain’s memoir, we can see those simplistic elements of a typical drama woven in. The aristocrat kid, needing to learn his lesson, and the mean albeit kind hearted mentor ready to put him to the test. In Sessa and Banderas, this journey and tension is envisioned even more.
The world first came to grasp of Sessa’s innocence in his acting when he stole our hearts in 2023’s The Holdovers. Now, Johnson gives him the chance to take on a titular role and he does not disappoint. His innocence is still there, but just as it does in Tony himself, grows and matures into pure passion, commitment and confidence as the film moves on. Pitted against this intense aggressive Chef in Providence, Tony does not know what is coming. But Banderas is back and better than ever. It is a different role that I have never seen him in. He is for the most part angry, of course what one could expect from a passionate chef who is stuck where he is. But in truth, and with glimpses in the face, we soon begin to understand that it all comes from a place of love.
The true importance of a story such as this — take away its biographical context — is the need to persevere and to find your passion. When you begin your life path with one thing and it does not work out for you merely a short distance on the way, it is important to not give up. Everyone around the world is struggling, and somehow, the release of Tony now feels more relevant than ever. It might only be to share the beginnings of a great chef. Yet, in all honesty, it can be used as a motivational film for the youth (anreed adults) of today.