AUSTIN – There’s a good chance a fair amount of those excited to see “The Rivals of Amziah King,” the stellar second feature from writer-director Andrew Patterson who burst onto the scene with the sci-fi gem “The Vast of Night,” are so because of the name of one Matthew McConaughey.
However, who they really should be most excited about is the wonderful newcomer Angelina LookingGlass, whose star-is-born moment is already one of 2025’s most exciting cinematic discoveries. In addition to being a spectacular showcase for her talents, Patterson’s latest film sees him painting on a broader canvas with such boundless care and unwavering confidence that it becomes beautiful to witness him spreading his wings as fully as he does here. Whatever your expectations are for what he’d do next after the world saw his first film, he both upends and surpasses them with one of the most unexpected yet wondrous works of SXSW and the year thus far. It’s part loving musical, part delicate dramedy, part scrappy underdog tale, and all sharply resonant in a way that sneaks up on you while remaining entertaining as all hell to watch.
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Set in the stunning landscapes of rural Oklahoma, this all begins with a song (the first of many foot-stomping compositions by Erick Alexander and Jared Bulmer) as a misfit group of musicians gather at their local drive-in that we can practically feel the ritualistic significance of. Their leader of sorts is the titular Amziah King (McConaughey), whose charm and charisma are matched only by his humble compassion for those around him. When not performing bluegrass with his band, he makes honey and cares for the bees he may love most. This is something that also makes him both an expert for the local police who are looking into a mysterious theft of honey elsewhere and, as the film will increasingly become about, a target for those who wish to take over his business. But Amziah wants to be in a community with people and joyously sing until the days turn to nights. His life is seemingly romantic, but Patterson doesn’t let this fall into saccharine. No, there is something much more challenging to pin down as he soon pulls back the curtain on the rougher realities of the world that can hit you like a freight train when you least expect them to.  
After this extended opening, which is disrupted by an unexpectedly gruesome accident that ensures we don’t get too comfortable in where we think this is going, Amziah unexpectedly reconnects with his foster daughter Kateri (LookingGlass), who he had once raised for a time but was eventually separated from. Overjoyed at her return, he takes her into his home and begins to teach her his bee-keeping ways. Though she is initially skeptical about some of his quirks, Kateri quickly becomes a key part of the business, even accompanying him to an elementary school that is dealing with a huge influx of bees in one of the most uproarious and darkly funny scenes you’ll ever see. At the same time, there are moments of more quiet reverence, like when Amziah and Kateri commune with their colony of bees that float around them and even crawl on them to become like a suit of armor against the world. However, when the tragedy of life comes knocking, this tranquility is shattered, and Kateri will have to find a way to pick up the pieces of what’s left.
Anything else about how this proceeds is something that can only be experienced, but let’s say that it can feel like “The Rivals of Amziah King” is actually several different movies. There is a gentle drama about a small community looking out for each other, a captivating pseudo-heist movie about getting back what has been taken from you, and even a darker turn into a haunting revenge thriller of sorts that sees Patterson taking some big swings. Yet all of them work magnificently. As shot by the excellent cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz, who worked with Patterson on “The Vast of Night,” each of what could be seemingly disparate parts is consistently beautiful to behold.
Never once does the film settle into just having one formal language as there will be scenes where the camera will frenetically dance around as they play music, fleeting snapshots where all of the characters seem to freeze in time at key points, and more familiar montage elements to capture just how grueling it can be to return to a state of grace in a world that can often feel like it’s built around an inescapable cruelty. It can even harden the best of us, calcifying the compassion we had and are still clinging to, though there is also the potential for people looking out for each other to endure despite it all. We won’t come away unscathed, but none of us ever entirely does in life.
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As we see this through Kateri’s eyes, LookingGlass gives a performance that can be vulnerable, funny, intense, thoughtful, somber, and moving within only a few moments. The transformation she goes through from beginning to end is subtle but incredibly practical, as we can see how the pains of life have shaped her, and she is determinedly doing all she can to reshape her world into a better one. Even as the path she takes to get there is fraught, this only makes the final frames Littin-Menz finds all the more flooring. Amidst all of the accumulating agonies of life, Patterson uncovers a last triumphant snapshot of grace for us to lock eyes with. [A]
“The Rivals of Amziah King” had its World Premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival.
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