Editor’s Note: A version of this story also appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, a newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, retrospectives, recommendations, and more. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox.
Some movies are about scale. Sweeping epics like “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy (2001-2003) or “The Odyssey” (2026) introduce their viewers to whole new worlds, their varied inhabitants, and the struggles they face. Other films, like “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (2019) focus on intimate character studies in place of a plot-driven narrative.
Personally, my sweet spot is somewhere in the middle. Movies like “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006) – my favorite movie of all time – tell a definitive story, but with a more modest scale that allows well-written characters to shine through and ultimately drive the plot.
“The Rivals of Amziah King” (2025) is that kind of perfect middle-ground movie. Written and directed by Oklahoma filmmaker Andrew Patterson (Vast of Night, 2019), the movie packs a punch but on a human scale. The first half of the film is a sweet, vibrant story about community, with a backdrop of beekeeping. The second half is a revenge-soaked Western noir – but is somehow still a sweet, vibrant story about community (and, yes, still beekeeping!).
Promotional trailer for “The Rivals of Amziah King” (2025). (Credit: Black Bear Pictures via YouTube)
Matthew McConaughey plays Amziah King, a charismatic, fast-talking beekeeper and bluegrass musician who anchors the first half of the movie. A fixture of his unnamed town in rural Oklahoma, McConaughey’s Amziah has a sharp tongue and a kind heart. His pragmatic, no-nonsense attitude is softened by his generosity to his community, and though he speaks primarily in wry proverbs and drawling witticisms, it never feels overdone. Aside from his self-made beekeeping operation, Amziah’s main occupation is playing music with a rag-tag band he’s built, which includes his Brazilian tenants, a barefoot fiddle player, and a sympathetic lawyer (it’s always good to have one around).
About a third of the way into the movie, we’re introduced to Ketari (Angelina LookingGlass), Amziah’s former foster daughter who has recently returned to the area. Amziah immediately absorbs her back into his life, teaching her the honey business and forcefully incorporating her into his band. LookingGlass delivers a brilliant performance as a shy and reserved young woman who is revealed to have nerves of steel and a never-say-die attitude. And she steals just as many scenes as McConaughey, an impressive feat for a young actress with just two other acting credits.
Within minutes of the film’s opening sequence, writer/director Patterson had me wholly on board with Amziah and his crew. The narrative progresses in fits and starts, building out of a series of vignettes that are often unexpected, frequently hilarious, and occasionally grotesque. Anton Chekhov (the Russian playwright who preached the merit of streamlined plotlines) would certainly disapprove on principle, but I like to think that he, too, would be ultimately convinced by the film’s organic storytelling and relentless charm. (Reportedly, Patterson’s vision won out over the more consolidated producer’s cut, a rare and glorious win for directors in Hollywood.)
Promotional poster for “The Rivals of Amziah King” (2025). (Credit: Black Bear Pictures via IMDb)
These extra details and conversational diversions make the film’s characters and setting distinctive and memorable. In one excellent scene, Amziah walks Ketari through a local potluck and introduces some of the local characters through the foods they’ve brought. Is any part of that sequence remotely necessary for the plot? I’d say no, as hardly anyone introduced makes another appearance in the movie. But it helps the viewer understand how Amziah thinks about his neighbors and their relationships, and surely that’s worth the four or so minutes of run-time it takes up.
Patterson implements similar narrative pauses to give Amziah’s bluegrass band time to shine. The movie boasts a fantastic soundtrack, thanks to the contributions of Scott and Seth Avett (the core of the North Carolina folk rock band The Avett Brothers), Ben Hardesty, and others. Music is important to Amziah, so Patterson makes sure it’s important to the audience.
Amziah and his band put on an impromptu concert in the opening scene of “The Rivals of Amziah King” (2025). (Credit: Black Bear Pictures via IMDb)
Potlucks and bluegrass jams aside, the plot eventually escalates when honey thieves come to Amziah and Ketari’s operation. A flurry of illegal activities follow as our protagonists look for their missing bees, and seek revenge on the people who destroyed Amziah’s livelihood – Kurt Russell joins the fray here as ruthless agricultural tycoon Dob McCoy. But despite these darker themes, the film continues to exuberantly celebrate Amziah and Ketari’s community, pointing (not very subtly) to the lessons we can all learn from bee colonies.
Though the film is set in Oklahoma, it was primarily shot in the lush, summer fields of Alabama. The setting is indisputably rural, featuring roadside diners, dirt roads, dense woodlands, auction houses, and an underfunded hospital with an embattled reputation. And while there are some jokes at the expense of said rural hospital, the movie’s portrayal of rural Oklahoma is warm and joyful. Some rural tropes (a nearly incomprehensible accent, a shoeless musician, a preponderance of evangelical churches) make appearances, but they are met with so many counterpoints that the stereotypes end up weakened rather than strengthened.
“The Rivals of Amziah King” is heartfelt and jubilant, with gleeful revenge, musical numbers, and honeybee heists galore. Even in the face of agricultural villainy, it’s a pleasure to spend a couple hours in the world Patterson builds for Amziah, Ketari, and their friends.
“The Rivals of Amziah King” is now playing in select theaters.
This article first appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, recommendations, retrospectives, and more. Join the mailing list today to have future editions delivered straight to your inbox.
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