Screening provided by Madman Entertainment.
Treacly and warm as any movie this into honey and bees should be, The Rivals of Amziah King (2025) is an entertaining and shapeshifting tale of revenge, interpersonal legacy, and community built on music. A true film out of time, one that dynamically shifts its focus constantly, and, while it has stumbles, arrives at a place of unexpected poignancy.
The film opens with an earnestness that fuels our journey. Amziah (Matthew McConaughey) is the last to arrive for a stitched together bluegrass performance at a local outdoor diner with his bandmates that immediately calls to mind the 80s and 90s hangout movies that defined McConaughey’s early career. After an uptempo jig and title sequence, we tail Amziah as he is whisked away by the police, not for any wrongdoing, but due to Amziah being the local beekeeper who can assist them in uncovering whose honey had been stolen from the back of a truck in town.
The following extended sequence is frenetic, matching Amziah’s energy and ability to weave himself into the lives of the community. Filmmaker Andrew Patterson knows what he has in this McConaughey performance, and builds the style and narrative around his charm and magnetism, allowing the film to evolve and develop through and eventually expand past him.
The shared connection of music is the foundation of The Rivals of Amziah King, with every moment bursting with the frenetic energy of a brash bluegrass group working a tune out together. The story takes a turn when Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), a foster child Amziah and his late wife raised and cared for, returns to town and is swept up into his exuberant storm. To the uninitiated, as Kateri is, Amziah’s brash inclusivity is overwhelming, but comes from a palpable desire to uplift those around him. The world is unforgiving and cruel, why not spend one’s time surrounded by music and friends. McConaughey and LookingGlass have an easy connection that feels rooted in the characters’ shared history. Her nervousness and modern sensibilities clash with his old-school bravado without ever causing friction, a charming dynamic that allows the film to stay balanced as it shifts gears in its second half.
There are several sequences here that are exhilarating with a crowd and worth taking the chance on. One, a charming, farcical escapade in a school cursed with an aggressive hive. The other, an extended bee hive heist set against the backdrop of the swampy backwaters of Oklahoma that calls to mind some great Kelly Reichardt films.
But the film isn’t all sweetness and treacle. Tastes will greatly vary for the effectiveness of the film’s second half depending on how one feels about the groundwork laid in its opening chapters. The Rivals of Amaziah King moves with a clouded confusion in its back half, shifting gears with abandon, relying on the location and its relentless stomp clap score to stay on the rails.
While a film built on top of people playing music constantly, this is not a traditional music film about folks trying to make it big. Amziah and his troupe of friends play at the local hall not to leave their small lives and be the next big stomp folk act, they play to entertain and connect with their community in the same way the potluck served alongside the event does. There is a sweet beauty in these moments that pierce through the overwhelming earnestness and makes a true impact.
After the emergence of The Vast of Night (2020), a film that struggled to break out and was greatly heralded by critics to get more eyes on it, there were fears Patterson would quickly follow it up inside a bigger tent, or god forbid pivot to television. The double-edged sword of Patterson’s follow-up being an intimate look at his local Oklahoma community is that it comes to screens a painful seven years after his debut. Thankfully, with a towering and human return to screen by McConaughey, we are rewarded with Patterson’s return with a unique comfort film that blends the old and the new, with a sweet aftertaste.
The Rivals of Amziah King is in theatres now.
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