I don’t think that chef Anthony Bourdain was particularly a big deal here, so not sure that this biopic, co-written and directed by Matt Johnson, will make much impression on our box office. Thankfully, rather than trying to cram his whole life into 106 minutes, it concentrates on the time when he was starting out on his career. In 1976, a 19 year old Bourdain (Dominic Sessa) wants to be a writer but takes a summer job at a Cape Cod restaurant, learning under the tutelage of a Brazilian-born restaurateur, played by Antonio Banderas.
This is quite a departure from Johnson’s ‘Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie’ that was released a few weeks ago as it is a very straightforward drama about an arrogant young man finding his way, and finally learning some humility. It is the sheer unlikability of Bourdain that might put a lot a people off this film though. A seemingly congenital liar who schemes to impress a girl, Nancy (Emilia Jones) who inexplicably likes him.
What the film does have are a clutch of excellent performances including an intense Sessa and a charming Jones. Leo Woodall shows his versatility, after his fine performance in Tuner, as Sal, a horrible friend of Tony’s. But it is Banderas who steals every scene he is in, as the forgiving and complex chef.
The screenplay by Johnson, Matthew Miller, Lou Howe and Ted Bartels is serviceable enough, aside from one very clunky moment when the subject of suicide is discussed. Despite feeling that there was not enough here for s movie, I found myself enjoying this more than I expected.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10