Dominic Sessa brings the early years of Anthony Bourdain to life in a riveting new biopic.

In 1976, pugnacious student and aspiring writer Tony finds his literary efforts stalling, and drifts into a summer job at a Cape Cod restaurant. With guidance from the stern but seasoned owner and the determination to make himself stand out somehow, a new world opens up as he learns the craft, and his life becomes richer in unexpected ways.

Directed and co-written with startling energy, wit, and directness by Matt Johnson (BlackBerry), the film eschews cosy biopic hagiography to capture the boy Bourdain described in Kitchen Confidential: “miserable, narcissistic…badly in need of a good ass-kicking”, along with the transcendent power he found in good food. Sessa nails the former as the lead; Antonino Banderas also shines as his mentor.