Film Review – The Rivals of Amziah King

Writer/director Andrew Patterson impressed some with his 2020 debut, “The Vast of Night.” It was an unusual viewing experience, and apparently not a fluke for the helmer, who returns with “The Rivals of Amziah King,” which is also an extremely odd movie. For his latest, Patterson examines the rough and tumble ways of the honey business, assessing the fight for market dominance as crime and punishment enters what’s initially believed to be a peaceful industry. Patterson has a mood he wants for the feature, and that involves numerous musical performances, adding a distinctly folksy twang to the production between hits of criminal activity and revenge plotting. “The Rivals of Amziah King” is a very idiosyncratic endeavor, and Patterson asks a lot of his audience with a 130-minute-long run time, but he maintains a strange flavor to his filmmaking, and acting can’t be beat, helping to realize cultural touches and atypical emotions spinning around this offering. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com