I walked into an advance screening of Tony knowing next to nothing. No trailers had crossed my feed. No articles had tipped me off. I sat down with zero expectations — and I walked out shaken in the best possible way. When the credits rolled, the packed house didn’t just clap — the whole room erupted in applause. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: when an audience reaction is like that at the end of a film, it tells you everything. I’d be genuinely shocked if this one doesn’t collect a handful of Oscar nominations.

Tony is A24’s biographical comedy-drama about a young Anthony Bourdain, long before he became the globe-trotting chef and storyteller we all came to love. The film drops us into the summer of 1975. Bourdain is 19 — cocky, self-absorbed, and convinced he’s smarter than everyone in the room. After losing out on a writing fellowship, he follows a girl he likes to Cape Cod, then hides behind the fiction that he’s gone there to write a book. He lands a summer job at a restaurant in Provincetown, and what starts as just a convenient cover story slowly becomes something much more humbling. Under the spell of a charismatic restaurateur (Antonio Banderas) who runs the kitchen, Tony is forced to confront his own blind spots and earn his place — lessons he clearly didn’t see coming.

Based on stories from Bourdain’s memoir Kitchen Confidential, this is a coming-of-age tale in the truest sense. It’s about that one summer that quietly rewires a person’s whole life. You don’t need to know a thing about Bourdain to be swept up in it. 

Dominic Sessa, who broke out in The Holdovers, carries the film as young Tony. He’s magnetic. There’s nothing showy about the performance, which is exactly why it works. He feels authentic, totally believable, never once winking at us about the legend Bourdain would become. You watch a restless young man stumble, learn, and grow, and you believe every second of it.

Then there’s Banderas as "Chef," who takes Tony under his wing. I’ll say it plainly: this is his best role ever. He’s magnetic and genuine, never leaning on charm as a crutch. Every scene he’s in crackles with warmth and quiet authority. If there’s any justice this awards season, his name belongs in the supporting actor conversation.
The rest of the cast rounds things out beautifully. Emilia Jones brings real heart, Leo Woodall and Stavros Halkias add texture and humor to the kitchen crew, and Dagmara Domińczyk lends the ensemble a lived-in feel. Nobody here is just filling space.

Matt Johnson, known for BlackBerry and The Dirties, directs with a light, confident touch. He resists the usual biopic traps. There’s no heavy-handed nudging toward the famous figure Bourdain became, no overexplaining. Johnson lets the summer breathe. He trusts his actors and keeps the energy loose and alive.

Tony is the kind of film that reminds you why you fall in love with movies in the first place — the ones that sneak up on you with no fanfare and leave you buzzing for days. Warm, funny, and quietly moving, it’s a small story told with enormous care. 

Tony opens in Seattle on August 14, followed by a nationwide expansion on August 21.