The newly released crime thriller Sovereign is a timely film which presents viewers with an up close and personal portrait of a troubled father and son from Arkansas who are ardent believers in the so-called sovereign citizen movement. The movie stars Parks and Recreation alum Nick Offerman, Canadian Jacob Tremblay (best known for his role in 2015’s Room), and veteran actor Dennis Quaid. It also features the talents of Last Man Standing’s Nancy Travis and actress Martha Plimpton. Sovereign is a low budget indie film which was written and directed by Christian Swegal.
Sovereign is loosely based on a true story of the killings of two police officers gunned down during a traffic stop in West Memphis, Arkansas in 2010. Nick Offerman delivers a tour de force performance as Jerry Kane, a widow who travels the country with his hapless son Joe (played by Tremblay) delivering fire and brimstone lectures on his anti-government beliefs and collecting financial donations. Early in the film viewers learn that Jerry’s problems with the government and legal system are indicative of his heavy-handed beliefs regarding the relationship between the state and the inherent rights of individual citizens. Jerry doesn’t have a driver’s license because he doesn’t believe he’s subject to state-imposed laws and regulations, he home schools his son, and even refuses to acknowledge the fact that the bank has foreclosed on his house. Because of Jerry’s antigovernment beliefs he and his lonely son routinely find themselves at odds with the authorities; specifically, the bank, police, and legal system.
The sovereign citizen movement is made up of a loosely knit group of anti-government activists, conspiracy theorists, tax protesters, and scammers. In the movie Jerry and Joe live in a kind of self-imposed world of exile set apart from the “real world”. Although Sovereign deals with politics and takes place during the pre-Trump era it’s easy to draw conclusions regarding how this citizen’s movement gave rise to Trump’s political ascension and sowed the seeds for the emergence of MAGA. Jerry and Joe inhabit a world dominated by guns, religion, and a hatred/distrust of government and legal authority. Early in the film after Joe answers the door and accepts a foreclosure notice his father reacts in fury, rebuking his young son because, “receiving is a choice. It’s not mandatory.” Expounding on his philosophy Jerry later expounds on his “Straw Man” theory by asserting, “There’s the real you, the person, and there’s the you, the one that the government owns.”
Apart from the political themes explored in the film at its heart Sovereign is a story about indoctrination, calling to mind real life figure Oath Keeper leader and January 6th seditionist Stewart Rhodes. Several scenes in the film serve to highlight the fact that Joe is unhappy with the life his father has forced on him. Although Joe is growing up isolated from his peers and dominated by the whims of his father he still manages to try and make strides to break out and have a “normal” life. Throughout the movie it’s made obvious that he has a crush on the cute teen girl who lives next door as he regularly checks out her social media page. Later on Joe even attempts to enroll in school but is thwarted due to paperwork requirements and lack of parental consent.
One of the strengths of Sovereign is the way in which the film cleverly contrasts the unhealthy relationship between Jerry and his son with that of the relationship between police officer John Bouchart (played by screen vet Dennis Quaid) and his son Adam, also a cop. There are several instances in the film in which John warns his son against coddling his own newborn infant son. When the baby wakes up crying John’s advice is to let his grandson settle down on his own thus instilling in the infant a sense of independence. This is the opposite kind of parenting advocated by Jerry who hovers over every aspect of Joe’s life and seems to consider his son as an extension of himself mirroring back his own bizarre socio-political beliefs rather than an autonomous human being with his own thoughts and feelings.
Sovereign is a thought-provoking film which is permeated by a sense of foreboding violence. The acting is top rate with both Offerman and Tremblay delivering superb and nuanced performances. In today’s divided world it’s easy to see things as black and white or good and evil. All too often in politics and on social media people are reduced to the status of “other” and judged or dismissed as mere stereotypes or tropes. In skilled hands art has a unique way of humanizing characters and giving us a rare glimpse behind our collective social masks to reveal that even those we may dismiss, diminish, and/or trivialize are real flesh and blood human beings with their own uniquely complex lives and struggles. Sovereign is a powerful film which illuminates an aspect of the political turmoil which has been brewing in the U.S. for years and the toll it takes on both individuals and society at large.
Sovereign can be streamed on Amazon Video and Apple TV.
