{"id":34093,"date":"2026-08-20T15:13:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=34093"},"modified":"2026-08-20T15:13:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:13:36","slug":"tony-is-a-well-served-biopic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=34093","title":{"rendered":"TONY is a Well-Served Biopic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 106 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature film from A24 opens exclusively at cinemas\non August 21st<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you read a lot of movie reviews, then you know that the\nend of summer is frequently not the best time for new releases. A lot of the\npictures are misfit films, and some aren\u2019t particularly well liked by the\nstudios that made them. But there are always a couple of exceptions. Tony<\/em>\nis one of those pictures, a wonderfully put-together biopic about the late chef\nand television host Anthony Bourdain, handling an important summer in the\nfigure\u2019s troubled life that set a clear path for his future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the opening titles attest, at the age of 19 young Anthony\nBourdain (Dominic Sessa) was an arrogant, aspiring writer more familiar with\ngetting into trouble than impressing others with his craft. After failing to\nsecure a scholarship and infuriating his hard-nosed mother (Dagmara Domi\u0144czyk),\nBourdain runs away from home in pursuit of Nancy (Emilia Jones) a young woman\nhe\u2019s been pining for. Broke and finding her in Cape Cod, he lies, telling the\nunimpressed Nancy that he is in town as part of the scholarship. He takes a job\nas a dish washer at a small restaurant run by a man known only as Chef (Antonio\nBanderas). Bourdain is forced to quickly learn the frantic ways of the kitchen,\noften hurting himself in the process. He befriends staff member Sal (Leo\nWoodall), and finds himself experimenting with drugs during off hours. While\nthe relationship between the Chef and Sal becomes strained, Bourdain finds\nhimself stuck in the middle and developing an unexpected appreciation for the\nart of preparing food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The film only deals with one summer in its subject\u2019s life,\nbut it turns out to be a wise storytelling choice. Bourdain isn\u2019t focused or\nfully formed as a human being, getting himself into all sorts of difficulties\nalong the way. There\u2019s a surprising amount of tension generated from the\ncharacter making bad decisions, as well as unintentionally making a friend who\nprobably isn\u2019t going to put him on the straight-and-narrow. This character is\nall new to the world of restaurants, and it\u2019s interesting watching him get\nheckled and shown the ropes. For anyone who hasn\u2019t worked in a kitchen, what is\ndepicted is fascinating and also appears incredibly dangerous. It\u2019s\nwince-inducing to watch Bourdain awkwardly attempt to shuck and oyster with a\nsharp blade and deal with ovens and other equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The performances are also exceptional, with Sessa at times\npushing Bourdain to the edge of likability while still keeping him relatable\nenough for us to enjoy his journey. Banderas really makes an impression as the\nChef, attempting to manage various volatile personalities behind-the-scenes and\nmake food he is proud of. All of the characters have a naturalistic manner of\ninteracting that feels completely authentic and honest. Some bits are genuinely\nfunny, while others are much less pleasant. No matter what is occurring, there\nisn\u2019t a minute in this story where you don\u2019t believe what you\u2019re seeing, and\nthat you have been transported back to a rundown Cape Cod restaurant in the\n1970s. And that is a remarkable accomplishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And since this tale is based on a real individual, there are\nseveral awkward and completely convincing tense altercations between the\ncharacters, as well as a couple of unexpected story turns. It\u2019s a trial-by-fire\nfor the protagonist, and without overplaying the material, one can really see\nBourdain slowly finding his calling and witness a climactic change in the young\nman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There may be much more to Anthony Bourdain\u2019s story, but this\nbiopic chooses a very important period in his life and tells it with precision\nand incredible expertise. In fact, the only wonder this critic had while\nwatching the picture was why its release hadn\u2019t been scheduled later in the\nyear. The performances are so strong that one can see potential awards\nnominations for at least a couple of the cast members. In the end, Tony<\/em>\nis a late-summer winner, a delicious feast that will impress anyone interested\nin the figure or what goes on behind-the-scenes in your favorite little eatery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 106 minutes This feature film from A24 opens exclusively at cinemas on August 21st. If you read a lot of movie reviews, then you know that the end of summer is frequently not the best time for new releases. A lot of the pictures are misfit films, and some aren\u2019t particularly well liked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":34097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[217,605,1579,1580,1627,2789,3848,4660,6047,6251,6909,12251,16905,23078,23084,23094,23097],"class_list":["post-34093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-217","tag-a24","tag-anthony-bourdain","tag-anthony-bourdain-biopic","tag-antonio-banderas","tag-biopic","tag-cape-cod","tag-comedy","tag-dominic-sessa","tag-drama","tag-emilia-jones","tag-leo-woodall","tag-restaurant","tag-tony","tag-tony-film-review","tag-tony-movie-review","tag-tony-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34093\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}