One could argue that bluegrass sounds like honey. Or that the bees’ liquid gold tastes like country music. Who knows which way the buzz flows, but both entities exude a warm, golden, and radiant character. The golden euphoria of bluegrass fuels the truly original drama The Rivals of Amziah King. This surprising, unclassifiable work from director Andrew Patterson and writer Jordan Montague tells a good story with the cadence of a honey-tuned ballad plucked on well-worn guitar.
The Rivals of Amziah King marks a welcome return for Matthew McConaughey, who stars as the titular man with a band of nefarious outlaws on his tail. It’s a great performance with McConaughey’s sun-baked folk hero providing one of his better turns in recent memory, especially as he belts a tune remarkably well, all while keeping a Southern boy’s manners in check with Amziah’s lick of rapscallion charm. But Amziah King is not your typical cowboy. He’s a beekeeper and musician, a man who enjoys harmony with the land by day and strums songs of love and brotherhood by night. His story packs an unexpected sting while proving that fresh voices in American independent film are alive and well.
A buoyant soundtrack of folksy melodies fuels the film and keeps Amziah’s fable dramatically and poetically grounded. As Amziah and his band of troubadours make beautiful music at fried fish joints and in cozy lived-in dining rooms, they adopt the resonance of a Greek, or rather, Southern chorus that comments upon the action through song. He and the gang order some greasy grub and strike a tune while waiting on the fryer. It’s a fun and bouncy number, but one that ends quickly when the cops appear.
The fuzz don’t want Amziah and company to put a cork in it. Instead, they need his help identifying a load of stolen honey. Amziah King gives a Southern spin on the great Canadian maple syrup heist as the bees get to work. It’s an offbeat odyssey in the spirit of early to mid-career Coen brothers’ comedy, as if Llewyn David hitched a ride to Oklahoma to work among the hives. Music punctuates the lazy haze of labour with songs enveloping the audience in the drawl of this cinematic world. Patterson and his team let the music fuel the action with numbers that offer respites, but not dramatic pauses. This film really has a way of finding a flow as dark humour and sweet harmonies mix together, building the necessary heart that propels the film in its unforeseen second act.
A twist of fate brings Amziah back into the life of a Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), a young Choctaw woman who was among his wards during his foster days. Kateri shares Amziah’s connection to the bees. She finds serenity among the hive’s hum. Amziah, meanwhile, notices this accord with pride. The girl can’t sing a toot, but she’s still the bee’s knees in his eyes.
McConaughey and LookingGlass, making her film debut, have strong chemistry as the chosen family types. They find harmony as the greasy, home-cooked inflection of McConaughey’s turn finds a fine balance with the naturalism of LookingGlass’s quiet resolve. These performances assist greatly as The Rivals of Amziah King shifts multiple tones within a single scene with splashes of violence and slapstick comedy ramping up the energy while the music gives a beat to recover. Great performances by the seasoned supporting cast injects the film with appropriate beats of laugh-out-loud humour (thanks to Tony Revolori), twangy charm (thanks to Owen Teague), befuddling Southern flavour (thanks to Scott Shepherd), and just the right hint of jovial menace (thanks to Kurt Russell). The music and songs by Erick Alexander and Jared Bulmer are the real stars though, and worthy of recognition.
Patterson (The Vast of Night) takes a big swing with this number at a time when Hollywood rarely has room for originals. The film’s shaggy dog spirit drags at times, especially when the final act undergoes one false ending too many, but by the end, it evokes the spirit of the South’s other liquid gold: moonshine. The best swigs are often the strangest.
