Overview
- A24’s Tony opens in limited release on August 7 and expands nationwide on August 21, and the studio has promoted the film with cooperation from the Bourdain Estate.
- Critics across advance reviews have consistently praised Dominic Sessa’s turn as a young Anthony Bourdain and strong supporting work from Antonio Banderas and Leo Woodall.
- Reviewers say the film confines itself to a single formative summer in Provincetown drawn from Kitchen Confidential, deliberately avoiding a cradle-to-grave biography or a direct depiction of Bourdain’s 2018 death.
- Many critics note the screenplay compresses and alters real events, creating amalgamated or fictionalized characters and changing some facts from Bourdain’s memoir, which has prompted discussion about accuracy versus dramatic focus.
- Early aggregator scores are strong and reviewers compare the film’s kitchen scenes to recent culinary dramas, a response that could boost box office interest when the R-rated, 106-minute film opens in August.