The Rivals of Amziah King

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Angelina LookingGlass, Jake Horowitz, Scott Shepherd, Kurt Russell, Tony Revolori, Cole Sprouse, Rob Morgan

Director: Andrew Patterson

After many years, beekeeper and musician Amziah King (McConaughey) reconnects with his foster daughter Ketari (LookingGlass) and hopes to bring her into his honey business. After an unfortunate setback, she realizes the beekeeping world is filled with vile people as Amziah's bees are taken from him and sold illegally. To get justice and save Amziah's business, Ketari must join forces with Remmick (Horowitz) and Chimmy (Sheperd) to steal Amziah's bees back from diabolical local businessman Dob McCoy (Russell).

This is one of, if not my favorite film of the year. You’ve heard the phrase “you haven’t seen anything like it” before and it is usually a false statement. We've usually seen plenty of things like it. Anyone who claims to have seen anything remotely like The Rivals of Amziah King is lying to your face. As far as filmmaking, this could be an accurate statement but in regards to the storytelling, I can safely say I haven’t seen anything like it.

This is a movie that jumps between genres at the drop of a hat. It is simultaneously a coming of age drama, a comedy, a musical, a revenge movie, and a heist movie. And somehow, it pulls them all off without giving the viewer tonal whiplash.

A lot of credit has to go to writer-director Andrew Patterson, who has such a command of each genre that each shift feels organic to the story he is telling. This comes as no surprise to anyone who saw Patterson’s stunning 2020 debut The Vast of Night. Patterson is a very unique visual storyteller and that is evident in full force with this follow up.

It never hurts when you have such a talented lead in Matthew McConaughey. Sure, it’s been over six years since the Oscar winner last appeared in front of the camera (The Lost Bus was filmed after this). And the actor has such a goofy and "aw shucks" persona off the screen, you kinda forget how great he can be in the right role. While not as dramatically complex as some previous roles, his charm is on full display and this is one of my favorite roles of his, outside of Mud and Killer Joe.

This movie would be nowhere without his relationship to Angelina LookingGlass's Ketari. This is a star making role for the actress, who becomes the focus of the second half of the film. Ketari doesn't feel as complex at first but once she sets out on her path to revenge, there isn't anything she won't do. While the film is ultimately a very uplifting one, Patterson boldly takes her character to some dark places and we are with her every step of the way even as she makes some objectionable decisions. I loved that the film is unafraid to go where it does.

Outside of the leading duo, this movie is filled with memorable characters. Horowitz's Remmick is a reminder that people shouldn't be defined by their past and becomes a key cog in helping Ketari pull of the heist. And where do I even start with Shepherd's Chimmy? His unintelligible character feels like he would make more sense as Farmer Fran's son in the sequel to The Waterboy than a character in this movie, yet it somehow all works and his character becomes much more important once the movie shifts into a heist film. Despite hardly being in the film, Kurt Russell still easily makes Dob McCoy such a reviled individual that its easy to root against him. Cole Sprouse even pops in for a scene or two as an ex-con who helps Ketari gather information on McCoy. Finally, the less said about Tony Revelori's Komar the better. Just know he helps the opening to this film be one of the most entertaining and shocking in recent memory.

Did I mention that the music is great? It plays a big part in the early section of the film, with many catchy tunes and McConaughey doing his own vocals for the film. Does it matter that he's not the best singer? Not at all and not the point. It's about how music brings the community together and while this could be a very sappy and trite portion of the movie, it doesn't hammer it over your head.

I hope I haven't oversold the movie, but I loved it. I haven't walked out of the theater feeling like this in a while. Not only does Patterson continue to be a fresh voice in independent cinema, this confirms McConaughey still has a lot of gas in the tank given the right role and announces another major talent in Angelina LookingGlass.

This sort of filmmaking is why we go to the movies.

Grade: A