The Rivals of the Amziah King is delightfully unconventional, incredibly charming, and filled with just the right amount of Southern flavor.
Written by Elizabeth Mulloy
Andrew Patterson’s The Rivals of the Amziah King is a film that I have been hearing about for well over a year. The film received glowing reviews from both critics and audiences at SXSW in 2025. Such high praise that many were considering it to be one of the first Oscar contenders of the year. However, the film went on to remain without distribution for more than a year, until Black Bear — Elevation Pictures in Canada — finally picked it up this year for an August release. Needless to say, this is probably not the release the filmmakers had hoped for. Having now seen the film myself, I can say with confidence that it deserved much better.
As someone who grew up in Texas and has visited Oklahoma on many occasions, my first reaction to The Rivals of the Amziah King was a deep sense of nostalgia and familiarity. The first hour of the film feels like a love letter to Southern Americana and the close-knit communities that define it. We follow Amziah (Matthew McConaughey, Interstellar), a beloved local beekeeper, as he welcomes his former foster daughter, Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), back into the community. He takes her to a local potluck where everyone is welcome, regardless of their background. He tells her the stories behind each dish on display, from brisket to collard greens and cornbread. He introduces her to the people who prepared them, occasionally exchanging recipes along the way. He brings her to a friend’s house for a private bluegrass concert, sharing their love of the music with the surrounding neighbors. Most importantly, Amziah takes Kateri under his wing and introduces her to the art of beekeeping and honey-making, allowing her to discover a passion of her own.
The first hour is filled with warmth, love, and comfort, highlighting the hospitality and sense of community that define the American South. The filmmaking is gentle and inviting, enveloping the viewer in a distinctly Southern charm. It is the kind of warmth that makes you want to stand up, sing, and dance as bluegrass music fills the soundtrack. However, that warmth is abruptly stripped away after Amziah’s bees are stolen. The moment the bees disappear, the entire film shifts into a completely different gear. What begins as a warm love letter to Southern Americana transforms into a Southern Gothic noir about revenge, justice, and reclaiming what is rightfully yours.
The controversial idea of "taking the law into your own hands" is a sentiment that has long existed in parts of the South. When people feel that the law has failed them, that they have been wronged, or that they need to reclaim what is rightfully theirs, it is not uncommon to see that frustration manifest in acts of vigilante justice. In The Rivals of the Amziah King, we see Kateri take the law into her own hands as she investigates who stole her and Amziah’s bees.
Kateri has not had an easy life. As a child, she was bounced from one foster home to another, with Amziah providing a sense of stability for both her and her brother. But that stability was taken away after Amziah became a widower. Now that she has returned to Amziah’s life, she has found the family and sense of belonging she has desperately needed. When that stability is threatened once again, however, she will do whatever it takes to preserve it.
In her attempts to recover their stolen bees, Kateri breaks several laws, makes increasingly questionable ethical decisions, and begins to spiral as she discovers just how cutthroat and brutal the beekeeping industry can be for those without wealth or power. What begins as a simple attempt to reclaim what was stolen from them gradually becomes something far more dangerous.
The filmmaking shifts dramatically after the first hour. While the warmth of the opening remains, it is now buried beneath a much sharper edge. You begin to feel the danger not only of the crime committed against Kateri and Amziah, but also of what their pursuit of justice is doing to them. The very warmth that once defined their relationship begins to wither as they venture further down a path of taking the law into their own hands.
The Rivals of the Amziah King transitions through several different genres over the course of its runtime. It begins as a heartwarming film about community before evolving into a noir, a heist film, a character study, an action film, and much more. Does it all flow together perfectly? No. Some of the transitions are clunky, and the film occasionally stumbles into awkward scenes as it shifts between genres. But even with those imperfections, The Rivals of the Amziah King remains a wonderfully strange and original Southern hoedown.
It is delightfully unconventional, incredibly charming, and filled with just the right amount of Southern flavor. With Matthew McConaughey delivering a charismatic performance alongside newcomer Angelina LookingGlass, and a soundtrack filled with infectious bluegrass music, it is hard not to be captivated by the film’s unique charm. The Rivals of the Amziah King may not always stick the landing, but its ambition, originality, and warmth make it a film that is difficult to forget.
The Rivals of the Amziah King was released in select U.S. theatres on August 14 and opens wide on August 21.
Photo: Elevation Pictures
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