Anthony Bourdain was — and is — more than a celebrity chef and travel show host. He became almost a folk hero later in his career. He had the air of an elder statesman, depending on who he was with and where he stayed. When he died in 2018, there was an immediate celebration of his life and his impact on American and travel culture. At the time, it felt likely that the only added extension we’d get of Bourdain moving forward would be a documentary here or there. One came out — Roadrunner, a phenomenal look at the person who was inside controlling Anthony Bourdain, the public persona. But then came the announcement of a biopic, which felt like an interesting idea.

Directed by Canadian Matt Johnson, Tony seems like the kind of thing Bourdain would’ve found wholly embarrassing. But we forget he was also an intense student of the pop culture figures (musicians, actors, writers) who consistently get biopics. It’s a stroke of genius not to make a page-by-page adaptation of Kitchen Confidential, the work that turned Bourdain into a household name (and which was itself made into a largely forgotten TV series starring Bradley Cooper), nor attempt to do a whole-life biopic. Instead, we get a deep dive into one of young Bourdain’s most consequential summers.

It is the summer he becomes himself. Or at least sets out on the track to become the main we fell in love with in his 40s with No Reservations.

When we meet him here, the young Tony (played by Dominic Sessa) has delusions of being a great writer. He may indeed become one, but he thinks he’s already achieved greatness, and will walk with ease into a career as a generational grand author. He is so convinced, he tells people that he has already won a college writing prize that will grant him the opportunity to write his debut novel without disruption, or the need for a job.

He doesn’t win the prize. So instead he sets off for Cape Cod, to follow the path of an acquaintance from his college. Half-romantic, half-stalker, he heads down with what little money he has, and drinks and sleeps on curbs. Eventually, the owner of a small seafood restaurant (Anthony Banderas) takes pity on him, and gives him the opportunity to sleep on his back patio in a hammock in exchange for work over the summer as the restaurant’s dishwasher.

Taking on the biopic of a much-loved figure — one as prickly as Bourdain — is not for the faint of heart. But Johnson, whose work in recent years (Blackberry, Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie) has put him among the top indie directors working today, gamely takes on the challenge. And who could possibly play a young Bourdain? Would they commit to an embarrassing, emphasized persona? Would they not embody him at all? Thankfully, Sessa (who made a splash as Paul Giamatti’s co-lead in The Holdovers) strikes somewhere right in the middle. He deepens his voice, but not to the degree of caricature. He adopts some of the famous man’s cadence, but smartly stops short of going all in, because the Anthony we all know was still learning who he was.

Johnson rounds out the cast with a mix of up-and-comers and Hollywood vets. Banderas as the restaurant owner gives one of his best performances in years. Podcaster and comedian-turnedactor Stavros Halkias chops it up as the loudmouthed cook. Emilia Jones as Nancy (a composite of a few women Tony knew in the earlier years of his life) also gets a star turn. It’s not easy to play the explicitly stated ‘object of desire,’ an often underwritten part, with enough layers to become intriguing, but Jones manages that here.

Shot largely on location in Cape Cod, in the same areas Bourdain actually worked, the film has a magic to it. Sometimes it’s a hangout. Sometimes it’s a coming-of-age. Sometimes it’s an in-your-face biopic, but no matter what, it’s all Tony. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tony is out in theatres nationwide now.

Catch our interview with Banderas here.