Tony (dir. Matt Johnson)

by Jack Martin | Aug 13, 2026

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 106 mins

UK Distributor: A24

UK Release Date: 14 August 2026

WHO’S IN TONY?

Dominic Sessa, Emilia Jones, Dagmara Domińczyk, Rich Sommer, Stavros Halkias, Leo Woodall, Antonio Banderas, Michael Kibrin, Caroline Portu, Monica Raymund, Ava Davey-Bissett

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Matt Johnson (director, writer, producer), Matthew Miller (writer, producer), Todd Bartels and Lou Howe (writers), Tim White and Trevor White (producers), Jay McCarrol (composer), Michael Bauman (cinematographer), Curt Lobb and Robert Upchurch (editors)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

In 1976, young Anthony Bourdain (Sessa) takes a summer job in a kitchen…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON TONY?

They say that the best biopics are ones that don’t factor in a person’s entire life but rather focus on a specific event or era that may have defined their whole existence. That way, it’s easier to focus more on developing the actual characters within a self-contained narrative, instead of just cramming in every major moment to satisfy that mandated check list (see: Michael, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Iron Lady, and far too many other biopics). As a result, you may not get their entire life story but you’ll still be given more than enough to actually understand why they mattered in real life, and what kind of person they might have been.

Tony, from director and co-writer Matt Johnson, does exactly that. Instead of showing the highs and lows of world-renowned chef Anthony Bourdain, the film is essentially a classic superhero origin story, focusing entirely on his early years as well as what drove him to a culinary life as a young man, complete with numerous personal obstacles and even one or two bad guys to contend with along the way. And, like a lot of the late chef’s most signature dishes, it is a serious treat for the taste buds.

Set during the summer of 1975, 19-year-old Anthony (Dominic Sessa) – who insists everyone call him Tony, as his true name is reserved for only his overbearingly judgemental mother Gladys (Dagmara Domińczyk) – is finishing his college semester with the hopes that he’ll be picked for an exclusive summer writing fellowship. But when those plans fall apart, Tony impulsively heads down to Provincetown, Massachusetts where former high school acquaintance Nancy (Emilia Jones) is spending the summer, hoping to woo his way into her heart – only to find that she’s already with someone, leaving him essentially stuck in the picturesque Cape Cod peninsula. Luckily, a drunken scuffle in a seafood restaurant lands him a dishwashing job and even a hammock to sleep on, courtesy of the restaurant’s owner known only as Chef (Antonio Banderas) who begins showing young Tony the ropes of the kitchen, which should already be an indication of which direction his life is going to go.

But even if you know nothing about Bourdain or his legacy, Tony – which adapts a number of early chapters from the chef’s bestselling memoir Kitchen Confidential – works because it structures itself as a formidable coming-of-age story that also doubles as a covert superhero origin. Throughout, you see Tony’s soon-to-be masterful food powers develop as he learns how to cut oysters, cook lobsters and even slice potatoes into fries, but also you get to witness him being kind of a pain to be around, his rampant ego and entitlement fuelling much of his initial impulsive actions which often land him in more trouble than he started out with. Those impulses are overly encouraged when Tony begins hanging out with fellow wildcard chef Sal (Leo Woodall, in his most rambunctious performance to date), but it soon transpires that the young man is seeking more than a hedonistic lifestyle or even that slightly undercooked romance with Jones’s verbally fierce Nancy, which is where the film begins settling into its cosier and more heartfelt structure.

Johnson excels at balancing the tender human drama with overt comedy, with scenes of drinking, casual sex and crude kitchen banter all carrying their own sense of charm that makes this world of Cape Cod hospitality feel lived in and even enticing, before pulling the rug on that momentary fun when certain characters’ drug use goes too far or when a devastating kitchen-set catastrophe sends everything up in smoke. Beyond that, the film certainly dabbles in a few overused coming-of-age tropes but it finds a way to make them work for the story and especially for the title character, whose growth is ultimately the central source of investment as the excellent Sessa – who between this and The Holdovers is simply a natural at playing angsty youth – utilises his on-screen magnetism to pull the viewer into his character’s growing maturity and sense of responsibility. At the same time, you can also see the kind of figure he is set to become, his sardonic and blunt manner seeping into his developing passion for cooking to where even his mentor – whom Banderas portrays with fiery compassion in a great supporting performance of its very own – is taken aback by the level of commitment his protégé is displaying.

It’s a rather uplifting film, because seeing Tony gradually come into his element and realising his true potential as the artisan chef he would later be known as is endearing and even exciting to witness, like watching Michelangelo mix all his paints together before getting to work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Johnson’s film celebrates that future legacy while still keeping the action entirely contained to this one period in Bourdain’s life, setting the filmmaker as one with stern focus as well as strong tonal range, especially given he’s also given us the year’s funniest comedy to date with Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (speaking of, credit must also go to that film’s co-star and co-writer Jay McCarrol for the soulful musical score he provides here).

While Tony isn’t exactly on par with the director’s other 2026 offering, only because a couple of the tropes it uses are a bit too conventional, it is still commendable as a well-structured and engaging coming-of-age/superhero origin hybrid that, like the best biopics, really takes the time to let its central figure simmer before serving.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Tony is a formidable coming-of-age story that also serves as a covert superhero origin story for legendary chef Anthony Bourdain, whom an excellent Dominic Sessa brings to life in a film that allows the young character to develop and flourish in his relatively new kitchen environment, which filmmaker Matt Johnson captures with humour, heart and heaps of sardonic charm.