Anthony Bourdain was a True Roadrunner Struggling in Life and Love

We have seen creative genius take is toll on the human spirit and witnessed the pressure and isolation that accompanies it. It’s the type of blessing and curse that has plagued numerous celebrities who simply couldn’t bear the pain and frustration price tag which comes with the loneliness of being a star.  Anthony Bourdain was a handsome, acerbic, chain smoking, culinary genius who simply loved food from all over the world.  His book and wildly successful show Kitchen Confidential made him a household name putting him at the top of the chef food chain of celebrity.  Yet, all that success wasn’t enough to keep him from saying that it’s “…healthy to think of death once a day,” or prevent him from going to the edge of indulgence with relationships, career or the dark side of life.

Directed by Morgan Neville, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain delves into the extreme persona of a man who ultimately became agoraphobic through accounts from friends, family and those who knew him the best – all of whom express that it wasn’t if Anthony would take his life, as much as when or how it would happen.  These deeply personal interviews, coupled footage and words from Bourdain himself, reveal a man who felt unloveable and constantly viewed life as cliffs of different heights to jump off any given moment physically and emotionally.

Neville’s attention to detail through the lens of his cinematographer Adam Beckman,  move and groove with Anthony thorugh street markets in Hong Kong to museums with spectacular imagery worthy of being seen in a theatre on the big screen in order to fully indulge in its beauty. Bourdain, who self admittedly “…kinda liked cooking,” had a timing tone and delivery full of highs and lows.  At heart, he was an incurable romantic whose various chapters in life never quite turned out the way he pictured them.  It was that romanticized view of life and relationships that would become his ultimate undoing.  No warning.  No note.  Just one day, impulsively made a decision that couldn’t be undone.

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain is a reminder to pay attention to those you truly love, as they may be struggling with internal demons you will never know or recognize.  However, sometimes all the love in the world can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be  saved.  Sometimes, in loving them, you simply have to let go.  Produced by Focus Features and CNN Films, you’ll be able to catch this one beginning July 16th.