Tony (2026) No Spoiler Review: Dominic Sessa Is Great, and This Highly Extrapolated Anthony Bourdain Story Kept Me Off My Phone

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Tony (2026) is a great, immersive story about a young Anthony Bourdain. I totally forgot that it was directed by Matt Johnson, who we first got to know through Nirvanna the Band the Show (2017).

Dominic Sessa was great in it. He played a vulnerable loser so well. You root for him from the very start. And since he can’t ever seem to catch a break, it makes for quite an immersive watch, which is really odd for a story about Anthony Bourdain becoming a man. One way I measure if a film is riveting is how much time I spend on my phone while watching. And as I said, for a semi-bio-pic (it is unofficial and highly extrapolated) I was not on my phone at all. Great acting and great directing.

Sadly, it also documents his drug use.

Emilia Jones was effective as the brunette love interest. Hope she gets more roles in the future. Leo Woodall was good too, effective in the portrayal of his character.

Great to see Antonio Banderas in this new era of roles.

It’s really interesting that this story is extrapolated from a really short chapter in Bourdain’s memoir. Some people say the character “Tony” is more a reflection of Matt Johnson than it is of Bourdain himself. This has definitely gotten the gears in my mind spinning. It was a great script and great story. It “passes” as a bio-pic and no one is complaining.

★★★★☆ for both of us.

Find me on Letterboxd if you want to see what else I’ve been watching.