"Tony" REVIEW

Published on 8/28/2026 

Written by: Braylon Mitchell 

Directed by: Matt Johnson 

Cast: Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones, Leo Woodall, Starvros Halkias, etc. 

Plot: 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. 

REVIEW 

Months after "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie" hit the film circuit as an indie comedy sensation of sorts and instant cult classic, 2026 still wasn't done with director Matt Johnson as right in the nick of time as the summer season is winding down, his newest film "Tony" has released. As an Anthony Bourdain biopic, this film takes the admittedly bold route of not feeling like a biopic in the slightest—at least in the traditional sense. It isn't until the end of the film that his full name, Anthony Bourdain, is even spoken. This film follows Bourdain's time as a 19-year-old in Provincetown working in a small kitchen and living on a hammock during the summer of 1975, months of personal exploration that changed the trajectory of his life and sent him on the path to becoming the famous personality that we knew him as. Both as a biopic of someone famous and a coming-of-age story, this film works excellently. More so than any cradle-to-death biopic that we get a million of a year, through this one influential summer, the whole of his life and exploration as a person is spoken to with deeply felt meaning—especially as this is a tried 'n' true coming-of-age film where a young person's development and expansion into maturity can very much be related to and engaged with. "Tony" doesn't reinvent the wheel, but the wheel it's turning is a damn good wheel. Through the found family/forming-community dynamic between the kitchen staff, love put into the theme of the art of creation through cooking, and sense of place with the summery vibes of Provincetown captured beautifully by Michael Bauman's cinematography, this film showcases an obvious amount of heart. Just as appealing and deliciously warm as The Flagship's Lobster Thermidor, "Tony" is a film that simply works. 

THREE BEST ELEMENTS

• Dominic Sessa's performance. Following up his breakout performance in 2023's "The Holdovers" where he made a big impact in one of the film's three significant roles, which he should've received an Oscar nomination for, it made a lot of sense to me that Sessa would continue his filmography with taking his first shot at leading a film. Unsurprisingly, Sessa is fantastic in this role. The way he carries himself physically throughout the film with an unsure demeanor and captures the essence of a lost young adult speaks to me. I can very much relate to his slight hunch-over too. Sessa is a talent, we knew it three years ago and it's nice to be clearly reminded. 

• The cinematography. From Michael Bauman, longtime Hollywood gaffer and recently frequent PTA collaborator who shot "One Battle After Another" and "Licorice Pizza", this film looks stunning—its nostalgic 70s-esque color palette and lighting alone is impressive, on top of that there's Bauman's dynamic sense of simple yet effective movement and framing. He's only shot a few projects, but Bauman has already established himself as one of the best working DP's in Hollywood. 

• The ensemble. Everyone in this film is excellently cast and delivers strong work. The large cast of character actors and smaller roles seamlessly belong to the time period and setting. Emilia Jones, Antonio Banderas, and Leo Woodall give wonderful supporting performances as well, each given good characters to chew on. 

WORST ELEMENT 

• The film's predictability was prevelant in my mind throughout. 

RATING

8/10

You should watch it, buddy!