How To Watch 'Roadrunner' Anthony Bourdain Documentary - Esquire

Roadrunner will not be a documentary you soon forget, much like Anthony Bourdain is not a person who easily evades the memory. That we promise you. But to test that promise's strength, you'd have to actually watch the film.

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On Friday, July 16, Roadrunner will be released in theaters, those dark caves where you once paid $23 to see Vin Diesel jump a car through three buildings in Abu Dhabi. After its theatrical run, it will wind up on HBO Max, though the date of its HBO Max release has not been established. CNN, home of Bourdain's show Parts Unknown, will likewise stream Roadrunner, but again, it is not clear when.

Roadrunner was directed by Morgan Neville, who had previously turned his directorial eyes to such rock stars as Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, and Fred Rogers, and who dove into the food world at the helm of the David Chang vehicle Ugly Delicious. His take on Bourdain is unflinching, at times harrowing and other times beautiful, wholly unforgettable for the viewer who looked up to Bourdain as their guide to life and then was left with little to lean on when Bourdain decided to end his own life at age 61 by suicide.

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As Neville told Esquire in an interview before his doc's release, Roadrunner was his attempt to understand. And though it is impossible to fully understand exactly what Bourdain thought and felt that led to his death, Neville fills in some gaps. His film also makes it clear that suicide was Bourdain's action and Bourdain's action alone.

At the film's end, we the fans are left wondering how much we knew him at all. So, yes, Roadrunner is one that'll sit with you for a while, and that's as it should be. Watch it this week in theaters, or in the near-ish future on your own TV.

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If you or someone you know is struggling or just needs to talk, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.