New Delhi, Aug. 23 -- One of the more frustrating aspects of the Hollywood biopic boom is the recreating of famous moments from the celebrity subject's life. The most egregious example is the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which ends with a meticulous facsimile of the 1985 Live Aid concert at Wembley. Why in the world would I want to listen to Rami Malek when I can simply listen to the real thing? There comes a point when it's all just high-end cosplay.

Matt Johnson's Tony, based on the 19-year-old version of the late chef, writer and documentarian Anthony Bourdain, succumbs to this temptation exactly once-recreating a famous 1970s photograph of Bourdain in his youth, a lanky, curly-haired young man working as a line-cook in P...