Rarely does one find a movie that’s in a league of its own, ignoring set genres and storytelling conventions to do something totally original. The Rivals of Amziah King (2025) is such a film. The second narrative feature from English writer-director Andrew Patterson (The Vast of Night), The Rivals of Amziah King is a Southern-fried look into the peculiar world of the honey trade that boasts yet another stellar performance from Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar, Dallas Buyers Club). McConaughey’s first on-screen role in 6 years is already enough to turn heads, but Patterson’s sophomore effort also features an incredible acting debut from young newcomer Angelina LookingGlass. The duo ferociously leads this Southern tale to the beat of its own drum.
Amziah King (McConaughey) is a beekeeper who spends his days producing the best honey in the backwoods of rural Oklahoma. Meanwhile, his nights are spent jamming bluegrass music with his rag-tag group of compatriots. This special daily routine is shaken up in a major way when his foster daughter from long ago, Kateri (LookingGlass), reappears in his life. As the two rekindle their bond and Amziah brings Kateri into his rough-and-tumble way of living, barrels of valuable honey go missing. Kateri is forced to take initiative, trying to find a way to quell the, you guessed it, rivals of Amziah King, namely a local business tycoon played by the great Kurt Russell (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, The Hateful Eight).
From the start, filmmaker Andrew Patterson proves to be a master of capturing mood and atmosphere. The introduction of The Rivals of Amziah King sets such an affable tone; the naturalistic visuals by Patterson’s returning cinematographer, M.I. Littin-Menz, mesh well with a rhythmic edit by Patrick J. Smith. Amziah’s crew, including a newbie played by Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel) and a hilariously heavily accented Scott Shepherd (Killers of the Flower Moon), is ever so charming. The hard work this crew does day in and day out, including the righteous bluegrass jam sessions accompanied by some wonderful original tunes by Erick Alexander and Jared Bulmer, endears the audience to them as hardworking brothers in arms. Or perhaps honey.
Amziah King’s family business isn’t suited for everyone, but Andrew Patterson builds an intoxicating aroma around it. Even when one of Amziah’s crew gets their ponytail stuck in a piece of machinery, practically scalping them, The Rivals of Amziah King treats this like a funny accident. It’s a sweet found family dynamic that’s easy for the young Kateri to slide into. If this movie were a more straightforward indie drama about a foster father and daughter reconnecting through the natural miracle of bees, it would still be extremely captivating. Matthew McConaughey’s uncanny ability to portray his eccentric characters with both formidable gravitas and grounded empathy hasn’t waned one bit, despite coming out of a 6-year feature film acting break.
The biggest surprise is that in her very first movie role, Angelina LookingGlass doesn’t only match McConaughey’s enchanting screen presence but also surpasses him. Wasting too many words on how much the 21-year-old Native American actress brings a subtle spunk or a realistic magnetism to the role would be doing her a disservice. Here’s the fact of the matter: Angelina LookingGlass has that genuine “it” factor most actors will only ever come halfway towards achieving. Consider that in the second half of The Rivals of Amziah King, she essentially takes the reins as its true protagonist, making her feature acting debut all the more impressive. It shouldn’t be long until moviegoers see her name on the big screen again.
On the note of the story switching gears, that’s one of the most thrilling aspects of The Rivals of Amziah King. After comfortably working its way into our hearts as a lovely little found family drama, the stakes suddenly skyrocket. Rather than this tonal shift being jarring, Patterson smoothly glides into the next half of the plot while not losing sight of the relationships that have kept people along for the ride. The Rivals of Amziah King could be described as a crime thriller, a hangout comedy, a heist picture, and a slice-of-life drama, all at the same time. Putting them all together, alternating and combining these genre elements, makes for an experience that feels like pure cinematic bliss.
Another sharp edge to the film’s multi-layered script is how it always plays in shades of grey. Kurt Russell doesn’t portray his rivaling honey tycoon like a typical villain, as he’s got his own personal tragedies to wrestle with. Kateri is no angel either; Andrew Patterson and James Montague‘s cunning screenplay challenges her with some highly unethical routes to achieve her goals. Even a side character played by Cole Sprouse (Lisa Frankenstein, Riverdale), who helps Kateri out at a critical moment, is hard to gauge. Patterson seems to have the view that everything is in context. Because of how a character wronged another, a rash action could be viewed as the exact right thing to do in that moment.
Or maybe, Patterson doesn’t believe in context at all, and he’s just showing the audience these broken honey traders as they are, in a ‘70s cinema style. Words can’t really do justice to The Rivals of Amziah King. It’s a perfectly calculated mish-mash of genres that revels in its rich world-building and colorful cast. Writer-director Andrew Patterson made a name for himself with his science-fiction mystery piece The Vast of Night (2019). That movie worked because of its inventive use of formal elements to bolster an otherwise overdone narrative. The Rivals of Amziah King almost takes the opposite approach, utilizing the aesthetics as a tool to effectively tell what is, at the end of the day, simply a fantastic story.
Featuring an outstanding breakout performance from Angelina LookingGlass and the long-awaited return of Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey, The Rivals of Amziah King is an early contender for one of the best films of 2025 for being wholly original and sticking to its gut instincts.
The Rivals of Amziah King premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival!
Release Date: TBD.
Directed by Andrew Patterson.
Written by Andrew Patterson & James Montague.
Produced by Andrew Patterson, James Montague, David Heyman, Teddy Schwarzman, Jeffrey Clifford, Michael Heimler, & Will Greenfield.
Executive Producers: John Friedberg, Christopher Casanova, & Rob Silva.
Main Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Angelina LookingGlass, Kurt Russell, Cole Sprouse, Owen Teague, Scott Shepherd, Rob Morgan, Tony Revolori, Jake Horowitz, Catherine Dyer, Jason Davis, Sandra Ellis, Harris Stone, Bruce Davis, Derrick Goodman Jr., Sharon Blackwood, Chip Carriere, & Tony Mareno.
Cinematographer: M.I. Littin-Menz.
Composers: Erick Alexander & Jared Bulmer.
Production Companies: Black Bear Pictures & Heyday Films.
Distirbutor: TBD.
Runtime: 130 minutes.
Rated R.
