Critics are eating up Dominic Sessa‘s performance in Tony.
The 22-year-old actor’s turn as a young Anthony Bourdain in A24‘s Tony, directed by Matt Johnson, is drawing rave after rave from critics, with more than a few of the notices reading like an awards campaign billboard. The first reviews for the coming-of-age biopic hit July 29, and the film opened with a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a “generally favorable” 70 on Metacritic.
Sessa’s star turn
Variety‘s Owen Gleiberman contrasts Sessa’s work in Tony with his more subdued, BAFTA-nominated turn in The Holdovers, arguing this performance finally shows what a movie star needs: real anger and heat. He describes Sessa’s Tony as “an eager, voluble, simmering bad boy who is playing out his inner turmoil in the real world. His Tony, tall under a curly ’70s moptop and sideburns, has the look of a hungry dog.”
IndieWire’s David Ehrlich, even while grading the film a middling “B” overall, is clear about what’s carrying it. He credits Johnson for stepping back visually in the film’s back half — trading zooms for long lenses — specifically because he’s “trusting in the magic of Sessa’s wholly self-possessed lead performance” to hold the frame on its own.
Fresh Fiction’s Courtney Howard graded the film an “A” and calls it “fresh, intoxicating, profound and deeply resonant”, with Sessa understanding that his character’s arrogance is a cloak for someone genuinely “vulnerable, shrewd, and thoughtful.”
The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney agreed Sessa follows through on his Holdovers promise, praising him for “nailing the contradictory aspects of a slippery character while mapping his coming-of-age arc with empathy and honesty”.
Even Nick Schager at The Daily Beast, who found the film slight in scope, singled out Sessa’s performance as the engine that makes it work, noting the actor brings a “rough-around-the-edges charm that’s in keeping with its go-for-broke protagonist.”
The not-so-sizzling notes
The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey calls Tony “a lovely and deeply likeable work,” but has one real complaint: “Johnson and his co-writers Matthew Miller, Todd Bartels, and Lou Howe seem pressured to address Bourdain’s death in some way, as if the film would be neglectful not to.” Loughrey argues that Sessa’s performance already makes Bourdain’s underlying sadness clear without it.
The Wrap’s William Bibbiani landed in the middle. He admired how the film refuses to soften Bourdain’s rough edges for most of its runtime, but felt the ending goes soft, calling it “contrived” and “unconvincing.” His summary line: “This isn’t a superhero origin story where he changes and becomes a do-gooder at the end. This is an origin story about Bourdain’s inciting incident, the exact moment in his life where he realized he needed to change. In Matt Johnson’s hands, that’s epic enough for a whole film.”
The Hollywood Reporter‘s Rooney was the coolest on the film overall despite his praise for Sessa, describing the movie as a slender slice of a famous life that feels a little wispy in its mix of scrappy and sweet tones. “More of a light bite than a full meal, but flavorful.”
Banderas buzz
Several critics singled out Banderas for turning what could’ve been a fairly thin mentor role as Chef into something more textured — a reminder that the Best Actor Oscar nominee (for 2019’s Pain and Glory) still has range to spare in a supporting part. Variety‘s Gleiberman calls Banderas “fantastic” and says the actor invests Chef “with a delectable blend of gentleness and cutthroat authority, as well as an undercurrent of mystery.”
The Hollywood Reporter‘s Rooney was struck by the small details, like Chef quietly attending Portuguese-language Mass every Sunday, that ground him as a onetime Michelin-circuit cook now content running a no-frills Cape Cod kitchen. And The Wrap’s Bibbiani calls him a “wise old salt with a weakness for sentiment,” the only person willing to take a chance on Tony when nobody else would.
Tony opens in select theaters Aug. 7 before expanding wide.
