From director Matt Johnson, who directed BlackBerry, comes Tony. It is a biopic about the late Anthony Bourdain, the chef-turned-cultural icon whose voice changed the world.
Dominic Sessa stars as the young Bourdain in Tony. Tony is a coming-of-age story about discovering where you belong. This occurs often when you least expect it.
Tony takes us back to 1975. The 19-year-old Bourdain arrives in Provincetown, Cape Cod, at a turning point in his life. However, after missing out on a college writing fellowship, he lies about receiving it. As a result, he follows his high school crush, Nancy (Emilia Jones), to the coast. The impulse becomes the spark for a broader personal awakening.
What begins as an ordinary summer, driven by longing and a little self-invention, soon takes an unexpected turn.
Needing money and a place to stay, Tony takes a low-level job washing dishes at a local seafood restaurant and is thrown into a world that is loud, demanding, chaotic and completely unlike anything he has known before.
There, Bourdain falls under the influence of two very different figures: a grounded, wise mentor, played by Antonio Banderas, and a reckless co-worker, Sal played by Leo Woodall, who pulls him toward more self-destructive habits. Between mentorship and chaos, he begins to uncover a new direction — one that will eventually lead him far beyond the restaurant doors.
Like all good stories, the would-be romance gives the film its emotional pull, setting Bourdain’s summer in motion and quietly shaping the direction his life will take.
Tony is showing in Luna and Palace cinemas this August.
Check with your local online cinema guide for session times.
