McConaughey Returns in 'Rivals of Amziah King' Review — SkimNews
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- 'The Rivals of Amziah King' marks Matthew McConaughey's first screen role in six years as a mandolin-playing Oklahoma beekeeper, in less than half the runtime of Andrew Patterson's follow-up to 2019's 'The Vast of Night'; the film blends bluegrass musical, beekeeping drama, Native American Western, and a river journey.
- The film premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival and opens theatrically via Black Bear starting Friday, August 14.
- Angelina LookingGlass plays Kateri, a former foster child from the Choctaw Nation whom Amziah reconnects with; she drives the second half as an 'avenging angel' who retaliates against thieves of Amziah's honey barrels with escalating violence.
- Owen Teague leads Amziah's bluegrass band in a wordless performance, alongside Rob Morgan as a local cop, Cole Sprouse as informant Oat at Sad Abe's fish fry, Jake Horowitz as a paroled criminal, Tony Revolori, and Kurt Russell as corrupt mogul Dob McCoy.
- IndieWire's review calls Patterson's direction 'overdirected' with musical sequences edited 'more like a music video than a movie,' but praises cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz's set pieces and Patterson's tenderness toward the Choctaw Nation.
- The plot hinges on stolen honey barrels worth $1,500 each that Amziah traces using propane heaters; violence escalates from slapstick (a propane worker scalped) to dark (Kateri trapping someone in a boiling-hot room to their death).
Why it matters: McConaughey's first screen role in six years gives him less than half the runtime — the second half is carried by newcomer Angelina LookingGlass as a former Choctaw foster child turned avenging angel, making this more a launching pad for her than a McConaughey comeback vehicle. Black Bear's August 14 theatrical rollout tests whether director Andrew Patterson's bravura style — which IndieWire calls 'show-off-y' — finds an audience beyond SXSW.
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