Roadrunner: An Emotionally Charged Portrait That Delves Into The Life And Death Of A Cultural Icon
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? director Morgan Neville is back with another emotionally charged documentary that examines the life of a cultural icon. This time around, Neville dives into the life of chef, writer, traveler, TV personality, and all around Renaissance man Anthony Bourdain, whose shows (No Reservations and Parts Unknown) touched a lot of lives. Unlike his examination of Fred Rogers, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain isn’t all lovely and warm; this unflinching look at Bourdain’s life and death is as inspiring as it is heartbreaking.
Chef, writer, adventurer, provocateur: Anthony Bourdain lived his life unabashedly. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain is an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon.
“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you.” Anthony Bourdain certainly left his mark on millions of people. His shows gave audiences a chance to travel around the world, to see “parts unknown,” to sample food and beverages with a side of sage wisdom and a healthy dose of camaraderie. He’s one of those cultural figures that had the innate ability to make viewers feel as though they knew him — and to a certain extent we did — but in actuality, only a small number of people truly knew this Renaissance man.
With Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, Morgan Neville crafts a documentary that is the closest any of us will ever get to knowing the person behind the persona. Comprised of Bourdain’s words and narration, behind the scenes footage from his television productions, and interviews with his friends, collaborators, and confidants, the film celebrates Bourdain’s full life while it peels back the layers to examine his inherent darkness and tragic death by suicide in 2018. At its best, Roadrunner makes you feel like Bourdain is still with us for one last hurrah, but it also feels a bit like a devastating eulogy for a culinary rockstar who just didn’t want to be alive anymore. Although the film is an often funny commemoration of Bourdain’s passions and legacy, it’s sometimes a harrowing watch with jagged edges that cut deep — in good and bad ways.
The film starts out almost as if it were an unaired episode of one of Bourdain’s many shows, with his voiceover narration like a hug from an old friend. The film essentially takes us through the last two decades of Bourdain’s life, from his surprise success with his memoir Kitchen Confidential to his many years as a reality TV personality and his untimely passing. Due to the seemingly endless amount of footage and writing Bourdain left behind, most of the film is surprisingly told from the man himself (well, kinda), with Neville’s beautifully captured, shallow focus interviews filling in the gaps. In the film’s second half, there’s a dark swerve, and Neville (and his talking heads) attempt to grapple for answers that aren’t really there; however, the way the interviewees comment on Bourdain’s passing and the hole its left behind is rawly emotional and sadly touching.
On the whole, it’s a fairly conventional documentary film with a dark twist. There are numerous documentaries — and narrative films — that celebrate the life of beloved icons, but the way in which Roadrunner unflinchingly (and uncomfortably) peels back the skin to examine suicide and its effects sets it apart slightly. The film is very neatly composed, arranged, and edited (which we should all expect from Neville at this point), but it’s not exactly a home run. There are weird moments and a few misses that detract from this mostly joyous celebration of a man who touched so many lives. The use of A.I. to recreate Bourdain’s voice to deliver words he had written down but never recorded is a good example of the weird. As for misses, there’s an awful lot of words thrown around about Asia Argento, Bourdain’s girlfriend, and the hold she had over him, without her being interviewed to relay her side of the story (something Neville deemed “narrative quicksand,” stating, “We considered every aspect of Asia’s story but found that the more we opened the door on it, the deeper the complexity and the less insight the film had.”). However, the film does feature a sick backing soundtrack and a new Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) tune which makes up for some of its issues and mirrors Bourdain’s raw rock-and-roll vibe.
Despite its perceived flaws, one thing is clear: Anthony Bourdain has left his mark; he is deeply missed — and still deeply, deeply loved. The film is a testament to his inspirational life and legacy, as well as Neville’s continued ability to sculpt well-crafted and thoughtful portraits on his subjects. Unlike Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the tears shed in Roadrunner aren’t always happy ones; it’s also cutting because it makes you miss the man all over again. While it gives way (a bit unnecessarily perhaps) to Bourdain’s dark demise, it still has the ability to lift you up when the emotional journey is all said and done.
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of Bourdain, Roadrunner is a must watch — just brace yourself for the devastatingly sad and tragically dark bits.
Rating: 3.5 words of wisdom outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!