Tony review: This charming film about Anthony Bourdain's early years sidesteps biopic clichés

Blackberry director Matt Johnson delivers a rewarding coming-of-age film set over one summer in 1975 – with Leo Woodall among the impressive supporting cast.

Antonio Banderas and Dominic Sessa in Tony

A24

Published: Wednesday, 29 July 2026 at 5:00 pm

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A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Too often, biographical films about famous figures fall into the same tired tropes. With vanishingly few exceptions, these movies tend to offer either cradle to grave, hagiographic overviews of their subject's life or contrived origin stories explaining how their most recognisable works and traits came to be.

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Perhaps the highest compliment that can be paid to Tony – Matt Johnson's enjoyable new film about the early days of the late, beloved celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain – is that for the most part it barely feels like a biopic at all.

Instead, save for a couple of scenes, this picture sidesteps those aforementioned clichés and delivers a hugely rewarding coming-of-age tale (or bildungsroman, to directly reference the film itself) that would be no less worthwhile even if you had no idea of its ties to Bourdain's story.

Adapted from a short section of the chef's best-selling 2003 memoir Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, the film unfolds entirely over the summer of 1975 in the small Massachusetts town of Provincetown in Cape Cod.

Aspiring writer Tony (Dominic Sessa) – who envisages himself as a mixture of Jack Kerouac and George Orwell – has travelled there to chase the attentions of his high school crush Nancy (Emilia Jones), after lying to both her and his own parents about being selected for a prestigious fellowship.

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After getting himself into a spot of bother in a small local restaurant, Tony is taken in by its hard-working proprietor and chef (Antonio Banderas), and ends up spending the summer sleeping in the latter's hammock in exchange for his manual labour as a dishwasher.

It's in the kitchen of this seaside establishment where Tony finds himself moulded both by his experiences with raucous colleagues – including the unpredictable Sal (Leo Woodall) – and the quiet mentorship of Chef, provided with valuable life lessons that will stay with him for far longer than that short summer.

Sessa – so brilliant in his breakout role in Alexander Payne's 2024 Christmas movie The Holdovers – is terrific in the central part, playing Tony as a live wire of nervous energy armed with both the cocksure arrogance of youth but also the wounded quality of a lost soul. In less capable hands, it would have been easy for the character to become a little too unlikable to root for, but Sessa's nuanced performance ensures we stay on side even when we don't always agree with his decisions or demeanor.

The supporting performances are also excellent across the board, with Woodall stealing the show in an electric turn as Sal, whose magnetic, boisterous charisma perhaps isn't always the best influence for the impressionable Tony, even if he helps bring him out of his shell. As Chef, Banderas offers a gentler counterpoint to the brashness of the other kitchen staff, and it's this relationship that ends up serving as the film's tender heart, leading to some emotional moments that feel heartfelt but never cheesy.

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Johnson, who already has one acclaimed film under his belt this year in the shape of time-travel comedy Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, impresses once again behind the camera. He expertly crafts the nostalgic vibe of a specific seaside summer – filled with both high highs and low lows – that helps make the film a hugely pleasurable viewing experience.

The kitchen scenes will no doubt remind many viewers of recently concluded TV hit The Bear, carrying with them the same intensity and authenticity of that show and showcasing the (sometimes hot-headed) camaraderie between the staff that feels unique to working in a small, busy kitchen. Meanwhile, there's also a great original score by Johnson's regular collaborator Jay McCarrol, bolstered by a stellar soundtrack that includes '70s hits from the likes of Jonathan Richman and Karen Dalton.

It all adds up to a moving, charming, well-performed summer film told with an commendably light touch – a far cry better than a more traditional biographical film about Bourdain's life and career might have been.

Tony is released in cinemas on 14 August 2026.

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Patrick Cremona, smiling against a lime green background.

Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.

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