A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.
Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) moves to Provincetown, namely, to follow Nancy (Emilia Jones), a girl he has a crush on. Once the writing fellowship he applied for falls through, Tony ends up drowning his sorrows with no money. Luckily for him, the restaurant that throws him out lets him take on a dishwashing job.
I have not read Bourdain’s memoir, ‘Kitchen Confidential,’ so I really had no background on his early days. It’s still unclear to me just how much creative liberty “Tony” took regarding this period of his life, but I still enjoyed the film, nonetheless.
Bourdain was a rascal in his younger years. He didn’t think things through or consider the consequences of his actions. He came across as arrogant and rude, and he believed the world would cater to his whims. It may be because you know of the man, but you can’t help but wish he’d get his act together. Instead, he’s a naïve kid who doesn’t know what he’s doing yet. Dominic Sessa is effortless in this role. Even when his character is acting out, you end up rooting for him.
Antonio Banderas co-stars in the film as a low-profile but once-renowned chef at The Flagship. Banderas’ character is honestly a mystery. His name is not revealed, and not much is revealed about his personal life. All you know is that this guy is quite generous, but also doesn’t play around, especially when it comes to punctuality. His character also seemed lonely and secretly enjoyed having Bourdain around to accompany him on his various errands.
I appreciated that Banderas’ character often made items from scratch or went to get his own ingredients. It shows the amount of care he puts into his work. Bourdain, in part, seemed to inspire him with his curiosity about expanding to meals not listed on the menu. Bourdain himself in the film seemed secretly impressed with the chef’s dedication.
Bourdain’s foil comes in the form of Sal (Leo Woodall). Sal is cool and effortless where Bourdain is not. But he’s also more of a thug. He has anger issues that he cannot seem to control at times. You could see Bourdain down this same path if he let his bitterness consume him. Despite the front he puts on, Bourdain does have more of a moral compass.
Otherwise, I’d say this film is pretty conventional. An arrogant kid gets a reality check and turns out he isn’t as smart as he’d like to believe. But he learns some lessons and grows from them. He still makes some mistakes, but at the end of it all, he finds his passion.
I do wish Emilia Jones had a tad more to do in this film than be the love interest. She has great screen presence, but you don’t have much insight into her character. It’s easy to see why Bourdain would be drawn to her, though.
Despite the conventionality, “Tony” serves as a love letter to the beloved public figure. The film serves as an enjoyable coming-of-age tale. And its message – being lost in life can bring you to where you’re meant to be – is bound to resonate.
In Select Theaters Friday, August 7th, then expanding nationwide Friday, August 21st
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