1 of 5 | Matthew McConaughey and Angelina LookingGlass star in “The Rivals of Amziah King” in theaters Aug. 14. Photo courtesy of Black Bear
The Rivals of Amziah King, in theaters Aug. 14, is a unique and original crime drama. The relentless pace and specific milieu makes it thrilling but the tone also includes a welcoming, uplifting spirit.
Beekeeper Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey) runs into his former foster daughter Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass) waiting tables at a diner. So he invites her to work for him and shows her, and vicariously the audience, the ropes of beekeeping.
Amziah also does odd jobs for the locals, such as when the police ask his insight into a stolen shipment of honey barrels they recovered. Amziah always has room for others and invites neighbors over just to join in socializing.
Harvesting the hives and learning how to mingle with bees without getting stung is one thing. Amziah and Kateri also respond to a hive discovered at an elementary school in a scene out of an Irwin Allen disaster movie, or more accurately out of the ’90s disaster revival.
For the police, Amziah basically goes CSI on those barrels to identify the beekeeper from whom it was stolen. But, his process in the factory leads to a sudden, graphic injury that he and his team have to deal with first.
Amziah is every bit the mentor outside the hives too. He narrates the characters in town as he explains to Kateri the chefs of each meal at a potluck dinner.
Rippy (Rob Morgan) is Amziah’s legal counsel. Chimmy (Scott Shepherd) has specialized skills but mumbles so only Amziah understands what he’s saying.
They also introduce more and more contacts as needed, but they all form a network of people Amziah helped because he believed in their goodness. Many are criminals but he gave them the benefit of the doubt.
Throughout the entire movie, Amziah only mentions one person with whom he does not get along. Otherwise, he is inclusive. He likes everyone and just invites them all to join.
Amziah’s momentum is breakneck. Though written and directed by Andrew Patterson, the film seems to draw from the “all right, all right, all right” attitude that has captivated audiences from Dazed and Confused to Magic Mike.
As breathless as Amziah can be, he always pauses for moments of serenity. Holding out his hands for bees to swarm seems genuinely peaceful, and when he gently shakes them off it looks like a magic trick.
The honey theft, struggles with beekeeping and Amziah’s overindulgence in doing favors do entwine into a crime plot. Everything Amziah guided Ketari through earlier pays off, and she becomes resourceful to help solve the mystery with an inventive plan.
There are also enough musical numbers to qualify Amziah King as a musical. Amziah plays with a bluegrass band, with lyrics so rapid fire they’re like rap battle monologues. He encourages Kateri to sing and has another female vocalist on many numbers.
The beekeeper crime drama is a quirky niche of cinema. It has a surprisingly successful track record from Ulee’s Gold to The Beekeeper and now The Rivals of Amziah King.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
