‘Tony’ an original spin on the bio-pic
Published 11:05 am Friday, August 21, 2026
This image released by A24 shows Antonio Banderas, (left) and Dominic Sessa in a scene from “Tony.”
(A24 via AP)
Perhaps no filmmaker is having a year quite like Matt Johnson.
Johnson already made a splash with one of the year’s funniest films, “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie” (which he directed, co-wrote and co-starred in). Now comes his latest directorial effort “Tony’ — an unconventional bio-picture about Anthony Bourdain that may be one of the most entertaining films of 2026.
It is more than just a small snapshot of Bourdain, it is an incredibly moving coming of age film with an outstanding cast that makes it something pretty special.
“Tony” is set in the summer of 1973, with 19-year-old Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) a student at Vasser College who aspires to be a writer. When he doesn’t get a summer internship, Bourdain decides to head to Providencetown, Massachusetts to track down a high school crush named Nancy (Emilia Jones).
Bourdain tells Nancy he is there for the internship, but winds up working as a dishwasher in a local seafood restaurant with the owner and head chef named Ciro (Antonio Banderas) — who takes the young man under his wing.
He also develops a friendship with a cocky fellow employee named Sal (Leo Woodall).
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Johnson has already dipped his toes in the genre — director and co-writing the fantastic 2023 film “Blackberry” based on the creators of the popular phone. Like that film Johnson paints outside the lines here in “Tony” — giving you insight into the subject matter, but coming at it in a fresh and exciting manner.
Using Bourdain’s 2000 autobiography as the source material, Johnson, and three other credited writers (including “Blackberry” partner Matt Miller), has made this slice of life so relatable, you don’t have to know anything about Bourdain or that he is a real person to appreciate the characters and the story.
Sessa, who made such a positive impression in “The Holdovers,” is once again outstanding — capturing Bourdain’s quiet internal chaos quite effectively. Banderas matches him with a performance that may well be one of the best of his career, while Woodall continues to impress coming off a star-making turn earlier in the year in the outstanding “Tuner.”
Jones also delivers quality work, showing the promise she displayed in the Oscar winning “Coda.”
“Tony” is a film that just never has a misstep — a delight from start to finish that I had to just sit and absorb glowingly as the closing credits rolled.
If “Blackberry” and “Nirvanna” were the appetizers to Johnson’s talent, “Tony” is the full course meal — a film that is my favorite of 2026 to date.
Grade = A
About Micheal Compton
I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.
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