After a period in which he starred in romantic comedies, where he was almost always required to have at least one shirtless scene, Matthew McConaughey transitioned to serious roles and won an Oscar for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club. Six years ago, after The Gentlemen, the actor decided to step away from the screen to focus on writing a memoir and spending more time with his family.
However, a script by director Andrew Patterson, who is only on his second film, convinced McConaughey to return to the camera to tell a story about rural America. The Rivals of Amziah King had its world premiere yesterday as the opening film of one of the biggest American film festivals, SXSW, and was met with enthusiastic reception. In the movie, McConaughey plays Amziah King, a beekeeper whose life is upended by the reappearance of Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), a teenage girl he once cared for as a foster parent alongside his now-deceased wife. Their reunion seems like a fresh start for both Amziah and Kateri, but the theft of 20 barrels of honey complicates their lives and threatens the peace of their small community.
Variety’s review praises both the film and McConaughey’s performance, noting that the role suits him perfectly while also being unlike anything he has done before. Meanwhile, Angelina LookingGlass, making her feature film debut, is receiving accolades, with the review calling her a future star. It’s certainly too early to talk about the 2026 Oscars, but The Rivals of Amziah King could follow the trajectory of Winter’s Bone (2010), another rural America-set film that earned a young Jennifer Lawrence her first Oscar nomination and launched her into Hollywood stardom.
