Movies
From Tony to Anthony Bourdain
When Anthony Bourdain took his own life in 2018, I had only known his work as an author and television personality for a little while.
by Cam Schuster I 7th September 2026
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Bourdain’s coolness came through in his realness as a storyteller, from his first best-selling novel, Kitchen Confidential, about his honest experiences of the dark and seedy side of the restaurant industry, which kick-started his writing and storytelling career, to his TV travel shows No Reservations and Parts Unknown, where he expressed empathy for the working class and respect for immigrants pushing barriers through the culinary world.
Bourdain was true blue-collar, a rockstar rebel, and authentic. He was one of us while showing us what could be. So, when I heard they were making a movie about his early life—an origin story—I was all in like coconut cream in taro leaves.
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What’s interesting about biopics these days is the slice-of-life trend seen in films like A Complete Unknown and Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere. Instead of telling a whole life story, the writers have identified a significant crossroads in a subject’s life and focused an entire screenplay on examining that moment.
For the Matt Johnson-directed Tony, starring Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) as 19-year-old Anthony “Tony” Bourdain, Johnson looks at the origins of Bourdain finding his passion for food and cooking, experiencing camaraderie with his workmates, and discovering all the things that we know Bourdain would later speak highly of in his TV shows and books.
We are introduced to an arrogant lil’ shit, a smart-mouthed white boy getting through life by lying to his friends, parents, and his high school crush, played nicely by Emily Jones, whom he seeks out at the summer tourist village of Provincetown, Massachusetts. It’s there that Tony realises he needs money and finds himself reluctantly working for chef José Vatel, owner of the local seafood restaurant, played wonderfully by Antonio Banderas.
Sessa is solid as Tony and convincing as an unlikable character. I would think that if you watched this movie without knowing who Anthony Bourdain was, you would probably be wondering, “Why do I even care about watching a film about this lil’ shit?” Well, that’s the point of the story.
Tony is a coming-of-age film where we see a young man navigate his way towards adulthood and, hopefully, for our potential viewers, a change of personality for the better. In fact, the opening epigraph is a direct quote from Bourdain’s first novel, Kitchen Confidential, in which he brutally assesses himself as a young man. It reads:
“spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout,
badly in need of a good ass-kicking”
That’s as close to a real spoiler as you will get from me.
The pacing of the movie is well done. The drama that takes place feels like no scene is wasted as we follow Tony finding his feet. There are subtle moments where, without dialogue, we are shown Tony becoming fascinated by the restaurant culture and the craft of cooking. His learning feels more like a triumph for us than anything.
The soundtrack of the film, to me, is exciting, with each song complementing its respective scene. It’s a mixture of ’70s folk rock and psychedelic rock, with some funk and soul thrown in from The Brothers Johnson and Kool & The Gang. The music definitely transports you to the time, while the tone of each song reflects the environment and aesthetics of the fishing town the film is based in.
Tony is ultimately a story about growing up and changing for the better once you’ve found your calling or passion in life. What I got from the movie was that young people who are “lost” or without direction can turn things around when an experience in an industry intrigues them enough to pursue more of it.
Unlike food movies like Jon Favreau’s Chef or Ralph Fiennes’ The Menu, Tony is a workplace movie more interested in the culture of the restaurant kitchen that lures Tony in: the interactions with workmates, the language and vices used by this tight-knit crew of line cooks, sous chefs, and waiting staff, and the fellowship that comes with it. This is what a young Tony Bourdain found, and what we get in the end is what we all know Anthony Bourdain to be 30 years later.
All four of the main characters are performed without flaws by Sessa, Jones, Banderas, and especially Leo Woodall (The White Lotus), who plays the womanizer, drug addict, and line chef Sal. Sal shows Tony the party and destructive side of the industry while acting as a foil to Banderas’ culinary mentorship.
Tony is a marvellously enriching film. It is easy to digest (no pun intended) without being too heavy. The soundtrack helps keep the movie light, while the plot takes care of itself scene by scene.
Bourdain’s death is tragic. How can a man who seemed to have grasped life with both hands, travelled the world, tried every spoonful of food imaginable, and experienced so much decide to end it all? What fan or person wouldn’t trade places with his post-chef lifestyle in a heartbeat if given the chance? The man had his demons, for sure, and depression is a bitch, so sadly, we will never know. But we can celebrate his gift to us. We can look into a pivotal time in his life—a fun time, a time of growth and coming of age.
When I first discovered Bourdain, I had only known his work for a little while. After watching Tony, a little while is all I need.
3.5 out of 5 Kitchen Knives