Sovereign

In a time when it has become increasingly more prevalent to mistrust what those in officialdom have to say, it’s understandable how hardened resistance would arise in response, especially in light of recent events. But does this give individuals the right to willfully disregard widely accepted, reasonable social and legal standards in favor of their own questionable interpretations of these matters in the name of personal freedom? It’s a divisive issue, to be sure, one where opposing forms of extremism come into heated conflict with one another, often with disastrous consequences. That’s the issue raised in writer-director Christian Swegel’s powerful, fact-based debut feature. This gripping true crime psychological thriller chronicles the 2010 shootings of two police officers in West Memphis, Arkansas, during a traffic stop involving Jerry Kane (Nick Offerman), a vocal member of the Sovereign Citizens belief system, and his teenage son, Joe (Jacob Tremblay). As an ardent critic of the government, the former roofer who became an activist to protest what he saw as questionable official policies and practices attempted to fight the system and recruit followers with legal theories that aggressively and egregiously pushed the boundaries of credible interpretation in an effort to justify his own beliefs and actions. However, given his record of prior infractions and growing sense of personal frustration, his circumstances turned volatile, impacting not only himself, but also his perplexed, impressionable son, who struggled mightily to understand his father’s philosophy, one based on a blend of contrived resistance, zealous gun ownership advocacy and skewed interpretations of Christian thought. This riveting, largely overlooked offering from 2025 is an undeniably difficult watch (especially now), but it raises poignant questions about how far is too far on both sides of a very loaded coin. It also features two of the year’s strongest but overshadowed performances by Offerman and Independent Spirit Award nominee Tremblay, along with capable portrayals by a fine ensemble including the likes of Dennis Quaid, Martha Plimpton and Nancy Travis, all backed by a mesmerizing, unnerving award-nominated screenplay. Some may find the protagonist’s convoluted and cryptic legal and philosophical ramblings a bit hard to follow at times, but that shows the depth of his radical, single-minded convictions, regardless of how unconventional they may seem to most of us. It’s sad that this release is perhaps best characterized as one of those pictures that truly is a movie for our times, a troubling commentary on the current state of affairs in this country. But, if conditions are ever to change in meaningful ways, we must first confront ourselves and the beliefs and actions that drive us lest we slip into anarchy and chaos from which there may be no return.