Film Review: The Rivals of Amziah King

The Rivals of Amziah King
Director: Andrew Patterson
Black Bear Pictures, Heyday Films, G.E.D. Media
In Theaters: 08.14.2026

It’s been a great summer for movies, and the must-see blockbusters that generated the most buzz can still be found, whether it’s catching The Odyssey in IMAX or The Mandalorian and Grogu on video-on-demand. Sometimes the sweetest moviegoing experiences, however, are the ones that fly in unexpectedly, and The Rivals of Amziah King isn’t so much the movie everyone is talking about right now as it is the kind of film that cinephiles and film students will be talking about for many years to come.

In the backwoods of rural Oklahoma, widower and businessman Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyer’s Club, Interstellar) is a pillar of his tight little community. Amziah keeps bees and makes honey by day and plays bluegrass with his close-knit group of friends by night. He’s got almost everything a man could want, but when Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), his former foster daughter, returns to the town, Amziah has a family again. Taking the girl under his wing and teaching her every facet of the honey business, Amziah helps Kateri find a sense of belonging, and they quite literally live together in harmony. Unfortunately, in the world of bees and business, everybody gets stung, and Amziah’s business and Kateri’s idyllic new life are suddenly threatened by ruthless rival Dob McCoy (Kurt Russell, Tombstone, The Hateful Eight). Kateri refuses to give up, however, even if she finds that the honey business can get rather sticky.

Writer-director Andrew Patterson (who goes by the name James Montague for the writing credit) follows up his Slamdance Film Festival award winner, The Vast of Night, with a genre-bending masterpiece that is part quirky character comedy, part neo-Western, part sweet family drama, part bluegrass musical, part revenge thriller and all refreshingly original. Patterson has made an audaciously ambitious film that mixes the homespun eccentricity of O Brother, Where Art Thou? with the operatic darkness of The Godfather yet never feels forced or derivative. The intricate editing of Patrick J. Smith (The Revenant, F1: The Movie) keeps its many tonal shifts and narrative threads in graceful motion, while the richly textured storytelling and assured direction cast an almost intoxicating spell. It’s the kind of movie that seems to exist entirely on its own wavelength — and invites you to surrender to it. There are big surprises in this movie and unexpected acts of violence that are proving divisive among critics, but for me, it plays out as a mesmerizing folk tale.

McConaughey has never been more charming, and Amziah isn’t just someone you enjoy watching on screen — I want to be friends with this guy. I’d drop everything and follow him anywhere just to be part of his spirited world. LookingGlass, a newcomer to the big screen, makes an impressive debut in a complex role, drawing us to Kateri while keeping the inner workings of her keen, young mind locked away. Russell’s backwoods kingpin makes for a deliciously enigmatic villain, while Jake Horowitz (The Vast of Night), Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Owen Teague (Montana Story) and Scott Shepherd (Bridge of Spies) shine as devoted members of Amziah’s crew. The score by Erick Alexander, Jared Bulmer and Ben Hardesty is a knockout, and music supervisor T. Bone Burnett has assembled a dazzling group of musicians and vocalists, including Hardesty and his band, The Last Bison, as well as the folk rock band Kuinka. These last two groups’ contributions alone are more than worth the price of a ticket and owning this one on home video.

The Rivals of Amziah King is the most exciting piece of filmmaking all year, and that’s in a year that has seen Spielberg and Nolan in top form, as well as some stellar independent films. This is the kind of movie that comes along every time I find myself pondering why I do this whole critic thing, screaming out, “This is why!” and rejuvenating my cinematic soul. —Patrick Gibbs

Read more film reviews by Patrick Gibbs:
Film Review: The End of Oak Street
Film Review: The Brink of War

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