Movie Review: ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’

Opening in theaters  on August 14th is the new Southern crime thriller ‘The Rivals of Amziah King‘, which was written and directed by Andrew Patterson (‘The Vast of Night‘).

The film stars Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey (‘Dallas Buyers Club‘), Kurt Russell (‘Tombstone‘), Rob Morgan (‘Stranger Things‘), Tony Revolori (‘The Grand Budapest Hotel‘), Cole Sprouse (‘Lisa Frankenstein‘), Owen Teague (‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘), and newcomer Angelina LookingGlass.

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Initial Thoughts

Director Andrew Patterson’s ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’ blends mystery, revenge, music, family, and Southern charm to create an emotional rollercoaster ride of a movie. Matthew McConaughey is perfectly cast as beekeeper and musician Amziah King and gives a charming performance.

The supporting cast is also excellent, including fun performances from Owen Teague and Cole Sprouse, and a great villain turn from Kurt Russell. But it is newcomer Angelina LookingGlass that truely carries the film with her heartfelt performance.

Story and Direction

The movie begins by introducing us to Amziah King (McConaughey), a bee farmer and local musician living in the American South. When the police discover a truck full of stolen honey, they ask King for his expertise in helping them discover who the honey was stolen from and who took it. Meanwhile, Katen (LookingGlass), King’s former foster child returns after her mother’s death and King takes her under his wing teaching her the way of the bees. But when King’s bees and honey are stolen, and tragedy strikes, Katen is suddenly on her own and out for revenge, determined to get the bees back no matter the cost.

The story is excellent, building suspense around the main mystery, and creating a heartfelt and emotional revenge movie. But the mystery is not the main focus, it’s the characters, and the film spends enough time exploring them and their relationships for the audience to really care about what happens next. The film is also filled with excellent musical moments and a Southern charm that resonates throughout the movie.

Director Andrew Patterson shoots the film like a classic Western, and allows the characters room to grow, while never backing down from or forcing the main mystery to be solved. If there is one confusing component to the script, it’s the abrupt introduction of Katen and the move to make her the main protagonist at the film’s halfway point, but that is more than made up for by the second half of the film and the actors’ strong performances.

Cast and Performances

Amziah King is a perfect role for Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey to play at this point of his career and he gives a tremendous performance. King is an intelligent rebel with equal amounts of charm and spunk, and I can’t think of a better way to describe McConaughey himself.

The actor also brings with him all the respect and admiration an audience already has for McConaughey himself and uses that to his advantage so you are instantly engaged in the character. McConaughey also has a chance to showoff his musical skills as both a singer and guitar player and again plays those scenes with charm and ease. He also has great chemistry with LookingGlass and you really believe their relationship.

While his role is relegated to the third act of the film, Kurt Russell is excellent as Dob McCoy. By the time we meet him, the character has already been looming over the entire film and Russell possess enough gravitas as an actor to pull it off. But, while he is the antagonist of the story, the film explores the question, “Is he really the bad guy? And is it possible to be a good person that still does really bad things?” This ambiguity is something Katen struggles with and Russell is both charming and dangerous in his role.

Owen Teague is also very charming as Pirate, a bee smuggler who Katen enlists to help her on her journey of revenge. Cole Sprouse also brings a whacky charm to his character Oat, another local who decides to help Katen. Veteran actor Rob Morgan is equally strong as King’s friend and attorney Rippy. And its worth mentioning ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming‘ actor Tony Revolori who has one pivotal scene that you will never forget.

But it’s Angelina LookingGlass, in her first major film role, who really shines as Katen. The second half of the movie hangs on her performance and the young actress carries the weight of the film successfully. She has a warm chemistry with McConaughey, and really holds her own in a scene opposite Russell.

Not unlike Al Pacino‘s performance as Michael Corleone in ‘The Godfather‘, LookingGlass gives Katen a full arc, going from a naive young girl to a ruthless business women through the course of the film and is completely believable while doing it. The character is forced to make some questionable choices, but always has the audience behind her, thanks to LookingGlass’s sympathetic performance.

Final Thoughts

In the end, ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’ is like ‘Ulee’s Gold‘ meets ‘John Wick‘, minus the martial arts, with a strong dose of Southern charm thrown in. The story and direction are compelling, and I can’t wait to see what director Andrew Patterson does next. The musical moments are wisely used to move the story along and add to character development rather than distracting from the story at hand.

Matthew McConaughey gives one of his best performances in years in a role taylor made for his specific set of skills, and Kurt Russell is equally magnetic in the kind of role we don’t see the actor play often. But it’s Angelina LookingGlass that is the true revelation here, giving a star making performance opposite two of the all time greats in McConaughey and Russell.

‘The Rivals of Amziah King’ receives a score of 95 out or 100.

What is the plot of ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’?

Kateri’s (Angelina LookingGlass) life takes a tragic turn as she loses her mother and leaves foster care. Reuniting with her former foster parent, Amziah (Matthew McConaughey), changes everything: he becomes her mentor, revealing hidden skills when a devastating situation arises. Kateri relies on her newfound strength to seek Angelina LookingGlass is the true find here, giving a star making performance

Who is in the cast of ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’?

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