Tony turns Anthony Bourdain’s early kitchen years into a lively romance

ERR published this review of Matt Johnson’s film Tony, which follows Anthony Bourdain’s first steps in the kitchen through colourful characters, dark humour and a romantic view of 1970s America.

Tony is directed by Matt Johnson and stars Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Leo Woodall and Emilia Jones.

The film is inspired by the opening sections of Bourdain’s memoir Kitchen Confidential, whose Estonian edition was published as Avameelselt köögist ehk seiklused kulinaarses allmaailmas. The book is described as a bible for chefs and as a memoir filled with stories that can rival the biographies of rock stars.

One of the book’s memorable episodes involves two chefs closing a kitchen. One asks a server to fetch meat from the refrigerator in the basement, claiming that he is alone and overwhelmed with work. When she opens the refrigerator, she finds the other chef crammed inside. It takes the pranksters a long time to calm her down.

A difficult beginning

Tony begins with similar energy. The film includes a key scene Bourdain repeatedly described as the catalyst for his decision to become a chef: a head chef, portrayed here as one of the assistant chefs, has sex with his fiancée in a back room while the groom and wedding guests wait in the dining room.

Like Johnson’s 2023 film BlackBerry, which examined the rise and fall of the world’s first smartphone, Tony stands out through its vivid characters and convincing period setting. The romantic approach to Bourdain’s early years behind the stove is not distracting, particularly because youth in 1970s America is difficult to portray without nostalgia.

Dominic Sessa, who had already made an impression in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, balances sensitivity and vice convincingly as the young Bourdain. He moves between the image of an inexperienced kitchen worker and that of the future celebrity chef.

Tony lies to his parents, telling them that he has received a prestigious literature scholarship. He steals money from them and runs away to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where his schoolmate Nancy Putkoski, played by Emilia Jones, has gone for the summer. She would later become Bourdain’s first wife.

The self-confident young man’s plans go wrong on his first evening. He gets drunk, is beaten up and wakes on the street with a black eye and an empty wallet. His only way out is a job washing dishes at a rather dubious fish restaurant.

Like the television series The Bear, Tony presents teamwork as the foundation of a kitchen. The film gathers a remarkable group of volatile characters around its protagonist.

The kitchen is led by a former celebrity chef, played by Antonio Banderas. He patiently tolerates his employees’ hangover mornings, cocaine use in the kitchen and other criminal dealings. Banderas plays the part so convincingly that it is easy to forget who is behind the character.

Tony’s mentor and partner in crime is Sal, a bad-boy womaniser played by Leo Woodall. Woodall also played a con man in The White Lotus. Another memorable character is Stavros, played by comedian Stavros Halkias, who is constantly mocked about his weight.

Relatively honest

The film authentically captures the creative obscenities, teasing and humiliations exchanged by chefs, much of it directed at Tony, whom the head chef calls Flaco, meaning “skinny” in Spanish.

Tony is a film about an enduring love affair with the kitchen, told through the beginnings of a young man who would later become a celebrated food writer and chef.