Last night I went to the Broadway to see The Rivals of Amziah King and I was completely charmed by this movie. Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey) is a beekeeper, bluegrass musician, and born-again Christian in rural Oklahoma. He is the undisputed leader of his tight-knit community and hosts impromptu jam-sessions with members of his band, employs wayward young men in his honey making operation, attends pot-lucks at his church, and frequently helps out with bee emergencies in town. After he encounters his former foster daughter Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass) when she returns to the area, he integrates her into his circle of friends and instructs her in the characteristics of his bees. When one of his rivals, Dob McCoy (Kurt Russell), steals all of Amziah's bee hives, Kateri rallies his friends to help her get them back and exact revenge. The first act features several vignettes of Amziah interacting with his eccentric friends and these scenes are filled with so much joy, exuberance, and wonderful music (not to mention a lot of comedy which made me and the rest of the audience laugh out loud). McConaughey gives one of his most charismatic performances to date and his scenes with LookingGlass are incredibly touching. The second and third acts then become a tension-filled revenge thriller with a brilliant breakout performance from LookingGlass. So many of the sequences that seem totally random in the first act suddenly make sense as each of Amziah's friends use their unique skills to help Ketari in her quest. I really loved the message about the importance of community and I also loved that Amziah's community mimics the structure of his bees (the line that bees know when to find a new queen really struck me). I honestly did not know what to expect but this quirky and atmospheric movie pulled me in and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it is definitely worth seeking out!
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