Before Anthony Bourdain became the iconic world traveler and beloved TV personality, he was just Tony, a floundering young man finding his place in the restaurant industry in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Director Matt Johnson’s latest film, “Tony,” chronicles Bourdain’s self-discovery during a fraught Provincetown summer after his second year at Vassar College. But Johnson’s movie is far from a generic coming-of-age story. It’s an authentic snapshot of self-discovery.
After failing to get a writing fellowship at Vassar College, Tony (Dominic Sessa) lies to his parents and impulsively follows his crush, Nancy (Emilia Jones), to Provincetown. With a $10 bill and no plan, Tony runs away to the small coastal town.
On his second night, Tony gets too drunk at a restaurant and is thrown out in the street. But just as he is on the verge of giving up and going home, the kind-hearted restaurant owner, referred to only as Chef (Antonio Banderas), hauls Tony home to a hammock on the beachside porch of his seaside bungalow. In exchange for staying at the man’s house, Tony washes dishes at the restaurant — the beginning of his storied career in the restaurant industry.
While audience members may have expected a film about Bourdain to focus on his successful career as a chef and cultural critic, “Tony” focuses on everything else: his failed relationships, his desire to be seen as an adult and the choices he is caught between.
While Chef sees potential in Tony, Tony struggles to see it in himself, and his arrogance and poor decision-making persist throughout the movie. Through Tony and Chef’s relationship, the film adeptly captures the push and pull of mentorship, serving as a reminder that, occasionally, looking stupid is where the majority of growth happens.
While several film reviewers, including Justin Chang of the New Yorker, critiqued “Tony” for offering a narrow snapshot rather than a complete life story, this specific slice of Tony’s early life says more than a full biography. By depicting one uncertain summer, the film effectively conveys that relatable feeling of being 19 years old with your whole life ahead of you.
The movie is especially poignant for college-age audiences today. Amidst a rapidly changing job market, many college students are left in limbo, questioning what their livelihoods will look like after school. “Tony” reminds young adults that it’s okay to not know, to fail and to feel like a screw-up. It’s part of the journey. Identity may not be something we discover all at once, but instead, something we build through the choices we make.
Sessa portrays this theme with raw honesty. His Tony is selfish, stubborn and often difficult to root for — but that’s what makes his character so real. Tony is not the confident version of Anthony Bourdain we know from TV. Instead, Tony is young, lost and trying to convince everyone around him that he knows exactly who he is, when in reality, he is still just figuring it out like the rest of us.
