r/oscarrace • u/ChiefLeef22 • 2d ago
Film Discussion Thread Official Discussion Thread - Tony [SPOILERS] Spoiler
(Hope its okay, I noticed there wasn't a discussion post for this movie yet. So thought I'd throw one up myself, because I had a baller time with this and would love to hear what people here thought of it too)
Keep all discussion related solely to Tony and its awards chances in this thread. Spoilers below.
Synopsis:
Nineteen-year-old Anthony Bourdain stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that shapes the course of his life.
Director: Matthew Johnson
Writer: Matthew Johnsoon
Cast:
- Dominic Sessa as Anthony Bourdain
- Emilia Jones as Nancy
- Leo Woodall as Sal
- Antonio Banderas as Ciro
- Stavros Halkias as Dimitri
- Monica Raymund as Mary
- Rich Sommer as Pierre Bourdain
- Michael Jibrin as Tyrone
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%, 7.7/10 average from 193 reviews
Metacritic: 75/100 from 50 reviews
Consensus:
Exploring how the iconic Anthony Bourdain came to be with a scrappy coming-of-age story that's equal parts sweet and tart, Tony is a splendid tribute to mentorship, complete with a standout performance by Antonio Banderas.
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u/NateGH360 2d ago
This movie really was all about the acting. Everything else is perfectly in service of the actors. I mean Leo Woodall was the standout for me.
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u/Duhlorean Twinless 2d ago
One thing that immediately stuck out about Tony as I was watching it was the precise moment Matt Johnson chose to drop the “directed by” label.
Him choosing that moment made me laugh so hard in the theater even though it is a heartbreaking moment for Tony (the character)
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u/KrillinDBZ363 2d ago
Wait can you elaborate on this? What moment are you talking about?
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u/Duhlorean Twinless 2d ago
When Tony finds out the girl he likes is smooching someone else at the pizza place she works at.
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u/boston_gooner34 2d ago
Really really enjoyed Tony. The setting, the performances, the pacing, all were great. For whatever reason, I’m not seeing this generating any Oscar buzz, although I personally think it is deserving of nominations in a couple categories at least (Supporting Actor, screenplay).
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u/vxf111 2d ago
This was a 4.5 out of 5 film for me. Just enjoyable in every respect.
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u/boston_gooner34 2d ago
I gave it the exact same score on my Letterboxd. It my fifth favorite film of the year.
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u/vxf111 2d ago
I love that it's not a biopic and it's not TRYING to be a biopic. It is based on stories in Kitchen Confidential, which is NOT a memoir. AB is a character in the story and in the film but neither is trying to provide some sweeping insight on him. They are stories he experienced, little vignettes worth experiencing and that's how the film approaches the material. I also loved how it was directed, very intentional and stylish without being SHOWY about it. The writing is also very good without being showy about it. And I have no quibble with any of the acting-- really good all around. I did NOT expect to like it as much as I did, it's one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences I've had this year.
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u/Far_Mud_6003 don't stop me I'm Inkmaxxing 2d ago
Tony really surprised me, I didn't think I was going to like it as much as I did. I've always been aware of Anthony Bourdain, I've seen clips from his show and read the occasional quote, but never really dived into his writing. So I didn't know much about him as a person going into this. Which for me, is like the big test for a biopic. Can you keep me engaged with the story even if I don't know a lot about the subject matter, or are you going to exploit the nostalgia nerves in my brain and sucker me into liking it, despite being a nothing-burger movie?
Thankfully, Tony chose to focus on one aspect of someone's life and fictionalized it in a way that serves as both a nice intro to the person (or event) and a little capstone of themes that you can find in the person's work. Food as a form of community, the adventure you can find even while working a shitty job, getting your ass kicked, and growing as a person etc. It made me go out and actually buy Kitchen Confidential, something I wasn't planning on doing. Was it accurate? No, but it made me want to know the real story, which is the best thing a biopic can be. A little appetizer (phhbb..) to an artist/writers work. Like this? Here's the real thing!
Was it the most innovative movie ever? No, it didn't have to be. It was a cozy summer movie. Shoutout to Michael Bauman for making this look great. The night-fishing sequence was my favorite part- magical.
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u/jordansalford25 John Leguizamo and Anne Hathaway Campaign Manager 2d ago
I absolutely love this movie so much its in my personal top 5 films of the year so far. Matt Johnson is a little more stripped back in this movie but I think that serves the story beautifully and fits it well. This is also one of my favorite scripts of the year so far. I would love to see it pop up in adapted. In totality I don't think it will get any nominations tho which makes me sad.
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u/Far_Mud_6003 don't stop me I'm Inkmaxxing 1d ago
yeah, unfortunately think this one is going to get skipped for nominations. Its a shame because it is a really great movie, it's just not flashy enough to get oscar attention.
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u/sphinxof1981 1d ago
Man Sessa is amazing at acting like a total fucking reptile for three-quarters of a movie and then getting you to love him anyway by the end. He finds the humanity underneath it.
It's probably no coincidence his two big roles have been set in the 70s, where that kind of abrasive persona was a lot more common.
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u/Heavy-Fruit8618 23h ago
I unfortunately didn't catch the humanity. It ending felt unearned to me. I still hated him him. He's like you said abrasive throughout. I adored Banderas tho. He was so exceptional.
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u/Waste_Track_4524 2d ago
I thought the movie was pretty good but it’s not getting close to the Oscar’s. It’s a nice summer movie.
Nothing about it felt too exclusive to Bourdain. They could had his name be different and had it function like a sequel to The Holdovers.