Tony – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Tony – A Writer’s Touch from the Kitchen … I am a Cook

Looking at yourself in the mirror, you see someone that is full of life, love and memories.  The thoughts that cross your mind become a reflection of many causes, but it provides a starting point for a lifestyle journey.  In film, these tales provide a foundation for a biopic, a place where the growth of individuals builds off uncertainty through the art of storytelling.  Diving into ‘who I am’ is delicate, but with a realistic take … the typical can feel refreshing.  In this review, I look at the latest biopic to hit the big screen.  From a foundation of grounded appeal, we embark on a journey that shows how life is an ever-changing thing.  For all its simple traits, Tony is an amazing journey of how a lost soul can become … an iconic man.

This is the story of a young man lost in life, finding a new path of inspiration when he stumbles into the chaos of what is … a restaurant kitchen.  As you look at life, we see a place where the riveted feels can become a place of inspiration.  From unique adult journeys to childhood lessons, there are many places a story can blossom from.  This type of buildup provides a foundation of realism, but also a trail where the dramatic can bend for the sensation of entertainment.  Balancing between these threads can be delicate, but when focused on the most important things … it can be mesmerizing.  For this biopic, it begins with a thrust of indifference, where we meet a young Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) who’s trying to find his purpose in a writing program at Vassar College.  After a series of aloof like scenes, he fails to win a writer’s fellowship, leaving him to pursue another goal, winning the heart of a specific girl from his college.  This leads to certain dominos falling, where he heads to Provincetown (for the summer) and works at The Flagship, a local seafood restaurant.  Once he settles in this unique kitchen job, we move into the second act where situational levity crosses paths with an angst, naïve character looking for purpose.  This unique take twists the perspective of character growth, leading to a slow methodical directive that tackles storytelling through an unbecoming take on coming-of-age elements.  Each scene of interaction with the chef (Antonio Banderas), Sal (Leo Woodall) and Nancy (Emilia Jones) leads to a self-reflected mirror of his own flawed persona.  This provides a realistic grip for the audience, creating a push and pull type of dynamic of conviction and trepidation.  This grounded approach raises the bar of the coming-of-age motif, providing a journey where the harden aspects of character can become a new path in life.

As Tony slowly comes to terms with his own flawed persona, it provides a stumbling of truths.  Each scene becomes a unique crossroad, where a wedge is driven into what is possible (in this life).  As these moments thread between coming-of-age and biopic elements, the wavering starts to drag, leaving the filmmakers to mold convenient plot points with realistic dynamics.  Even with predictable moments, the individual dramatic turns help add girth to the obvious details.  As Tony faces a self-reflective moment, we head into a third act of emotive conversations, an about face like climax and an epilogue that is well earned.  Tony is a riveting tale of character and origin dynamics.  If you are a fan biopics, storytelling or character tales … this is one for you.  I believe this film is worth seeing on the big screen.

Full Score – 4 out of 5 (Full Price)