Tony — Review

At a time when so many biopics feel like formulaic compilations of a person’s greatest hits or cinematic renderings of their Wikipedia summary, Matt Johnson’s Tony feels like a breath of fresh air. The film deviates from the generic biopic structure, refusing to reduce Anthony Bourdain’s life to a glossed-over highlight reel or a rushed recap. Instead, it zeroes in on the summer of 1975, when Bourdain was 19 years old. By focusing on that one formative summer, the film gives us a deeper, richer glimpse into his early restlessness and recklessness as well as a more intimate portrait of his developing worldview and identity. The decision to make Tony a coming-of-age story allows Johnson to explore the humanity that countless conventional biopics often overlook