SOVEREIGN

Sovereign offers up a worthy dramatic offering with a fascinating yet chilling subject matter that when supported by a terrific lead performance from Nick Offerman, makes for a stimulating yet devastating watch.

What is the sovereign citizen movement? This may be the question many viewers sitting down to watch the latest drama from Briarcliff Entertainment, quickly becoming one of the most daring independent studios with their string of controversial releases that other studios would not touch, are asking themselves. Sovereign citizens believe that they are not subject to legal statutes unless they consent to them, and therefore pretend to live outside the jurisdiction of the courts and law authorities. It’s derived from misinterpretations of the law, often leading to vexatious litigation, conspiracy theories, tax protestations and scams in the view of regular, law abiding citizens. And that is the subject matter of writer and director Christian Swegal’s second film Sovereign, which tells the story of the individuals involved in the 2010 West Memphis police shootings, who were later discovered to be part of the sovereign citizen movement. With a rich thematic subject matter for Swegal to explore in his screenplay as he mixes a coming of age story with a political deconstruction of the sovereign citizen movement, despite being hampered by the film’s run time, the lead performances of Nick Offerman and Jacob Tremblay make Sovereign a chilling watch that viewers won’t be able to shake.

The sovereign citizen ideology is a puzzling one to the law abiding viewer and citizen, as it is a system of legal beliefs that rejects the system of rules which the majority of us live our lives by. Swegal does his best to introduce the uninitiated to this line of legal reasoning as we meet Offerman’s Jerry Kane as he attempts to indoctrinate his son and spreads the anti-government extremist point of view to those looking for a solution to their troubles. With a runtime of one hundred minutes, Swegal is juggling the ideology of the sovereign citizens group, the development of Tremblay’s Joseph Kane, and the authorities who will eventually be on the manhunt for Joseph and his father, and it leaves the informative exploration of sovereign ideology to a surface level and some character with a surface level development. While the former may leave viewers with some questions as to the specific rules that these extremism’s live by, which may cause viewers who are less familiar with this ideology to search for more answers outside the film, it also has two advantages for viewers. First, it only amplifies the absurdity of this ideology to those law abiding audiences. But more importantly, it informs Joseph’s characterization over the film, especially in the film’s latter half as he begins exploring the possibility of life outside the sovereign citizen ideology that his father imposes on him.

Despite an undeniable sympathy for Joseph in the way the film is portrayed, Swegal’s framing of this real life story defines the film. It’s a cautionary tale about extremist views, a reminder about the importance of the rule of law, and an exploration of the effects of parents on the upbringing of their children. There’s an inherent heartbreak to the story that leaps off the screen as you watch Joseph head towards his fate, which audiences can infer from the opening titles of the film that introduce it as being “inspired by true events” is not a happy one, otherwise this story would not have caught the attention of a filmmaker. The result is a deeply unsettling yet gripping drama that feels more relevant than ever given the political climate in the world, which is only amplified by the work of the film’s cast. The major downside is the runtime that truncates the development of the story and truly rushes the film’s final act, which is the payoff for everything that Swegal had been carefully developing, causing the film’s ending to pull its punch for lack of a better phrase.

Offerman may most famously be known for his government hating civil servant Ron Swanson from the beloved sitcom Parks and Recreation, but Jerry Kane is on a whole other level of government defiance. Using that instantly recognizable and authoritative voice, Offerman makes Jerry persuasive as he is spreading his sovereign views, promising the downtrodden the salvation they are looking for. While convincing, Offerman creates a dangerous streak to Jerry at the same time, shown largely through how he leaves his son to fend for himself and a general lack of empathy for Joseph, ensuring that the audience is never for a second fooled that Jerry is an individual to be feared, not one to be praised. It’s an outstanding dramatic performance from Offerman, offering a range and emotional depth that the actor is known for but not one he always gets to show with the comedic roles he is best known for, delivering a can’t miss performance.

While Offerman’s performance is the centrepiece of Sovereign, the film is not complete without the supporting cast. Tremblay continues to deliver impressive work as he graduates from a child actor to a young adult actor as Joseph, the narrative perspective from which the film is told. Latching onto the coming of age element of the screenplay, Tremblay brings a youthful innocence to the film as Joseph tries to develop his own perspective on his father’s views, while his inquisitiveness and own intelligence drives him to expand his own horizons and become his own man, despite his father’s sovereign indoctrination. Dennis Quaid and Thomas Mann are good as the two police officers who find themselves crossing paths with Jerry and Joseph, even if their characters don’t have enough screen time to truly develop their plot lines, while Martha Plimpton is excellent as Lesley Anne, one of Jerry’s disciples, and delivers a terrific character performance in her supporting role.

There is no question that the story being told in Sovereign is going to be too disturbing for some more casual moviegoers, but Christian Swegal provides an interesting look into the sovereign citizens movement within this tragic coming of age story. But for those who are able to, it is a rewarding narrative that takes viewers down a dark path to tell a story that feels more urgent and important with the political state we live in as a reminder of the importance of the true rule of law. Bolstered by a sensational turn from Nick Offerman that is certain to send chills down the spines of viewers as he transforms into this delusional and cold believer in the sovereign citizens movement, Sovereign marks a compelling second feature from writer and director Christian Swegal that explores the sovereign citizen movement in the context of a tragic true story that despite not being to fully develop all aspects of the story he set out to tell, is nonetheless engaging thanks to a strong cast.