Breaking UT alumnus Matthew McConaughey’s six-year live-action movie hiatus and marking the second feature film of director Andrew Patterson, “The Rivals of Amziah King” premiered at SXSW on Monday. The film’s funky concepts surprisingly blended well into a story worth seeing and hearing again.
“The Rivals of Amziah King” follows Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), a former foster child who reconnects with one of her previous foster parents, Amziah King (McConaughey). Amziah is a loving, bluegrass-playing honey farmer who offers Kateri a place to stay and a job in his honey business. He helps her find a sense of confidence and a community to rely on through potlucks, friendly sing-a-longs and lots of worker-bee symbolism. When things go south for Amziah’s business, Kateri goes to unexpectedly dangerous lengths to save it.
A truly original film concept, the story about Oklahoma honey farmers is a thriller, dramedy with strong musical elements. The first half is more of a comedy musical, making it especially surprising when the second half becomes more of a crime thriller. It wouldn’t have been possible to pull off the blending of all of this without Andrew Patterson’s directing. The warm lighting of each of the scenes makes the setting of the film feel homey. Additionally, the way the camera follows Kateri’s emotions leads the audience to find her character endearing, which makes it all the more unsettling when she makes poor decisions — softly zooming in on Kateri’s sweet smile and her friends’ faces in key moments, or swiftly flashing around the room as she grows anxious.
Beyond the directing, everyone in the cast did an amazing job. McConaughey’s charismatic storytelling guided the audience to laugh at and love each of the characters as Amziah introduced them to Kateri. At the same time, LookingGlass as Kateri impressively pulled off a complex character in her feature film debut. Surrounded by a supporting cast with tons of film experience, LookingGlass stood out with the sincerity she poured into her character — showing Kateri struggling with desperation through her empty stares and determined voice.
The film opens with an exciting bluegrass performance in a Sonic-looking old fast food spot. McConaughey plays the mandolin and harmonizes with his musical friends, which includes Ben Hardesty, another feature film debutante who is a member of indie folk band The Last Bison. The scenes with them performing feel uplifting, and the repetition of their harmonies throughout the film contributes to the story’s homey vibe.
Though there are some loose ends with Kateri not getting any consequences or seeming to care much about the crimes she commits in the second half of the film, the story overall is very moving. At its heart, “The Rivals of Amziah King” showcases a community of friends who will do anything to have one another’s backs, like worker-bees to their queen. Seeing Amziah’s friends break the law to help out Kateri, and seeing the way they race their trucks to join in on shenanigans is really sweet.
In all, it’s a film audiences won’t forget seeing. Patterson did an amazing job telling the story and guiding its cast. The world needs more original concepts like this.
4 honey bear containers with scalps out of 5.
