Tribeca Film Festival movie review: 'Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain'
The poignant, intimate and vibrant documentary 'Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain' (screening during the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival) finds a storyteller in search of inner peace, while trying to understand the world through food and travel.
In short: Filmmaker Morgan Neville ('20 Feet from Stardom') chronicles Anthony Bourdain's career as a chef, writer and host, renowned for his authentic approach to food, culture and travel.
The film's haunting opening lines immediately reveals Bourdain's ponderings about death and finality, with a final caution that "There's no happy ending." At one point in the film Bourdain ruminates on the flawed approach of only taking note of the news or big events, which often comes at the cost of missing the bigger picture. This philosophy is infused into 'Roadrunner,' which reveals a complex portrait of a man in search for happiness, yearning for normalcy and compelled to wholeheartedly throw himself into experiencing life and seeing the world.
Director Morgan Neville's film allows Bourdain's story to primarily be told by Bourdain himself, intercut with interviews with friends and collaborators. The narration is frankly stunning in how well his candid and beautifully written narrations tell his own posthumous story, as if written today in retrospect of his journey. At times, this documentary - composed from moments from the hundreds of hours filmed from his various shows - doesn't feel like a film at all: it's simply a conflicted man seeking answers to ponderous questions. 'Roadrunner' isn't merely some fun hang with the beloved chef cursed with insatiable wanderlust. At its heart, this documentary attempts to understand the whirlwind that was Bourdain.
‘Roadrunner’ distills the zest and zeal Bourdain had for living life, especially in the early days of his TV show. The enthusiasm to just experience life in all its colors and flavors is utterly infectious and absolutely epitomizes his appeal - a persona defined not by his pure expertise, but rather, by his total relatability. Biographical documentaries must accomplish two goals: clearly establish who the subject was and crystalize why their story is worth telling. ‘Roadrunner’ absolutely demands audiences go back to ‘Kitchen Confidential’ and ‘Parts Unknown’ to see the world directly through Bourdain’s eyes.
The tragic undercurrent of 'Roadrunner' is watching Bourdain play with his daughter or ribs his friends ... burdened with the ever-present awareness of knowing how his story ends. Neville's film is shrewd in hooking the audience with Bourdain's travels and exploits - then slowly transitioning from his life in front of the camera to his life behind the scenes. Bourdain was frank and candid about his life as a drug addict and his frustrations working as a chef in his books. His shows let the audience feel like they were globetrotting with their coolest foodie friend - yet the final months of his life remain shrouded in some mystery. Neville similarly allows his friends to frankly recount his turbulent final months - revealing that they still struggle to understand Bourdain's final act, while lamenting the signs they missed.
Final verdict: 'Roadrunner' celebrates Bourdain as an unparalleled raconteur, while revealing a man who reviled mediocrity trying to reconcile the gap between romance and reality.
Score: 4.5/5
'Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain' screens during the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. This documentary is unrated and has a runtime of 118 minutes. The film is scheduled for release in theaters July 16.
