Biopics can often qualify as such but only handle a certain chapter of its subject’s life. While films like this year’s Michael cover quite a time span, things like One Love covers a small section of Bob Marley’s life. The latest film from director Matt Johnson (BlackBerry) in Tony falls somewhere in the middle of the two.
Dominic Sessa plays Anthony Bourdain, who is on summer break from college in 1975. When he loses out on a writing fellowship that he believed will send him on his career path via Easy Street, he flees to Provincetown in pursuit of a crush (Emilia Jones). In the middle of all of that, he ends up working at a local restaurant for a man simply known as “Chef” (Antonio Banderas), changing the course of his life.
I love the fact that how they were able to film in the actual area where the story takes place, keeping the authenticity of the story on display and really makes me want to see it for myself. I also appreciated (as a guy that used to work in the industry) how real the restaurant felt, making things even better. At about one hundred minutes and given that this is just one piece of a much bigger story, Tony takes good advantage of the run time with a plot that starts out slow, but picks up momentum the deeper things go. I really enjoyed the relationship between Chef and Tony, which had me feeling the emotions right along with them in each and every scene. This was such a plus that it actually made me mad at how many times the character of Tony was given chances and blow them away and do something stupid, it reminded me of the same feeling when watching the documentary Weiner.
And the acting? Spot on! The chemistry between Banderas and Sessa was off the charts, and that is not to discount the chemistry between Sessa and Jones. Even though Sessa has a limited acting resume, he acted like a seasoned pro; there was nothing I did not like about his performance. With Banderas, I cannot say enough. If he does not get multiple nominations for his performance at the end of the year, I am calling foul, and that includes “the big one” for Best Supporting Actor. Except for the slowness at the beginning, there is not much I did not like about it, which is why I am definitely recommending Tony to be seen at a twilight showing in the theater.