Tony captures Anthony Bourdain's early kitchen days in directorial pivot by Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson's second film this year, Tony, is a stark departure from the rip-roaring comedy Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie — but it is equally compelling. Where Nirvanna captured wild adventure, Tony is an intimate, tightly focused coming-of-age story centred on Anthony Bourdain's early days working in a Cape Cod kitchen.

Dominic Sessa carries the film as Bourdain, capturing both the chef's restlessness and his hunger for connection. Emilia Jones brings tremendous depth to Bourdain's love interest, while Antonio Banderas anchors the story as the restaurant owner who becomes a formative figure in Bourdain's life. But it is Leo Woodall, in his role as Sal, the reckless oyster shucker, who steals the show with raw, chaotic energy.

Johnson's direction is most assured in scenes involving Bourdain's mother, Gladys, played with affecting restraint by Dagmara Domińczyk (Succession). Much of the film unfolds in the confined space of a kitchen, which tests Johnson's filmmaking range — he rises to the challenge, using the cramped setting to intensify emotional moments rather than let them flatline.

The film is neither the wild comedy of Nirvanna nor a traditional biopic. It sits in the margins, a focused, emotional snapshot of a life that would eventually become legendary. Sessa's performance is the glue holding the intimate narrative together, suggesting a depth of character that honours Bourdain's complexity without trying to explain him.

Tony opens in Vancouver theatres on August 14.