When a movie dramatizes a real tragedy, there needs to be care and tact put into how it presents itself. From dramas to thrillers based on true stories, there’s an expectation the film will present a narrative that is accurate to the events that unfold. Sovereign takes some liberties, but what it lacks in some areas of exactness it more than makes up for in the story it presents. That story is a tragic tale of a father-son duo who identify as Sovereign Citizens, members of a loose anti-government political movement who believe they can’t be subject to federal laws.

Nick Offerman stars as Jerry Kane, a debt eliminator and Sovereign Citizen speaker who is teaching his son, Joseph (Jacob Tremblay), how the movement operates. The film’s core focus is on their dynamic, and the events leading up to a tragic standoff that puts them in conflict with police chief John Bouchart (Dennis Quaid). A character study with plenty of moving parts, Sovereign is a deliberately paced thriller that constantly impresses, thanks to a strong script and heartbreaking, realistic performances.

Sovereign’s Exploration Of The Sovereign Citizen Movement Makes Its Characters More Compelling

Offerman & Tremblay Are On Equal Ground Thanks To The Story’s Core Focus

While some of the best crime movies of the 2020s have featured very overt criminal activities, Sovereign spends lots of time laying the groundwork for what crimes it presents. Much of the film is an exploration of the Sovereign Citizen movement through Joseph’s eyes. His father’s role in the group is a core focus when the story begins, offering a look into how much Jerry propagated and profited from anti-government sentiments. The presentation relies on real-world beliefs held by those in the movement to make its true story even more grounded in reality.

But the primary focus of the story isn’t just in painting the Sovereign Citizen movement in black or white. The gray areas are the most interesting, with the movement instead being used as a lens through which to view the father-son relationship between Jerry and Joseph. This is elevated by Offerman and Tremblay’s performances, with the latter in particular making Joseph all the more sympathetic as the story unfolds. The film does a stellar job of building generational companionship and strife between the pair as their worldviews are expanded upon with every new turn in their story.

While Quaid also has a prominent role in the movie, accompanied by Thomas Mann for his storyline, it’s not as engaging as the dynamic between Jerry and Joseph. It’s interesting, but very much weaker and somewhat generic in contrast to the interesting world of Sovereign Citizens. This focal point wasn’t just good for their character development; it actively explored the ideas of their movement in ways that made the story more effective. This was especially apparent as the buildup slowly led to the overt, gut-wrenching developments that unfolded.

When Sovereign’s Events Come To A Head, They Do So In Tragically Explosive Fashion

The Movie Does An Excellent Job Building To Its Climactic Conclusion

Much of the film’s time is spent building to the tragic, real-world event it’s based on, that being a shootout in West Memphis, Arkansas in 2010. The movie based on a true story may spend most of its time building to this event, but when it happens, it feels like a punch to the stomach to watch. The film doesn’t hold back on depicting the true story, albeit with some dramatic alterations for particular persons involved. But, even with these additions, the story still depicts an absorbing, edge-of-your-seat nightmare that is the reality of what happened.

It’s in the movie’s conclusive third act that its purpose for exploring the Sovereign Citizen movement before the shootout becomes apparent. It wouldn’t have been as impactful to see the core event that inspired the film without the detailed background that happens beforehand. It acts as a parable for when extremist viewpoints can cause someone to go too far, and the disastrous consequences that can come from such ideas. Even so, this lens applies mostly to the core duo, with the movement being an important influencer in their actions, but also in the struggle leading them to what happened.

With its primary focus being about the destructive nature of extremist ideologies and the rifts taking things too far can create, Sovereign is a darkly powerful tragedy that doesn’t hold back in the places that matter most. Offerman’s performance is one of his most memorable since The Last of Us, and Tremblay shows just how capable he is as a young actor, too. The movie’s memorable moments and tackling of a sensitive, real-world subject were expertly done, something that makes it stand out from other true story films that have been released in recent years.