‘Sovereign’ review: Thrilling chiller exposes danger of extremism, trauma, and indoctrination

Sovereign is tough to watch, yet hard to look away from. Not because it isn’t well done, but rather because it does almost too good a job in showcasing just how dangerous extreme right-wing ideology and indoctrination can be. The crime drama takes viewers on a tragic ride with a father-son duo on a collision course with ruin, telling a layered story with raw intensity and nuance. It’s a brutal film with relevance and impact, and it’s not for the faint of heart.

Written and directed by Christian Swegal, Sovereign follows Jerry Kane (Nick Offerman), an out-of-work roofer and single father, and his homeschooled 15-year-old son, Joe (Jacob Tremblay). Jerry has come to embrace the sovereign citizen movement, whose adherents claim they are not under the federal government’s jurisdiction and consider themselves exempt from U.S. law.

He teaches these beliefs to Joe, who loves his father but is growing more conflicted due to his own desire to attend a real school and have a life closer to normalcy. As they travel the country selling debt relief seminars to desperate homeowners, Jerry’s ideology becomes increasingly more extreme, setting them on a path of no return. Inspired by true events, the film takes viewers on a tense cinematic emotional rollercoaster, exploring the story not with strict black-and-white judgment but grey delicacy and nuance.

You don’t need to be well-versed in the sovereign citizen movement before watching the film to understand the themes and characters, but it’s a political phenomenon that’s been around for decades and is riddled with various forms of violence and conflict.

The beginnings of this movement can be traced back to 1971. William Potter Gale, a former member of the John Birch Society—an American right-wing anti-communist political organization—established a group made up of anti-government Christians who mistrusted state and federal officials. Calling themselves “The Posse Comitatus,” which is Latin for “power of the county,” they denounced the income tax, debt-based currency, and debt collection, believing they were tools used by the Jews, who they asserted controlled the United States.

They also believed that non-whites were sub-human and that there was some conspiracy in which the government the Founding Fathers created was replaced by a shadow state that now secretly controls everything.

Suffice it to say, the movement is rooted in white supremacist and antisemitic ideology. Since that time, there have been more contemporary offshoots that seemingly lead more with the idea of an oppressive and illegitimate federal government than with the racism pushed by its founder. Nonetheless, those involved with the movement have a tendency to align and collaborate with far-right groups who often lean on white supremacist ideology, as explained by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

In knowing the origins of the sovereign citizen movement, it could be easy to detach from the main characters of the film, watch their story with a bit of moral superiority, and dispassionately witness the oncoming trainwreck of their journey. Yet, director Swegal makes that nearly impossible, both with the casting and how he chooses to tell their story.

One could argue that it feels almost diabolical (and very smart) to cast Nick Offerman in the role of Jerry. The American actor, who has played various characters, has an endearing everyman quality about him. From his time on the popular series Parks and Recreation, to a number of film and television appearances since then, one could say it’s hard not to like and at times relate to Offerman. This alone makes it hard to simply judge and dismiss the character of Jerry. Yet, Offerman takes it a huge step further by giving a tortured, complex, and powerful performance.

Jerry is a struggling single father under the crushing weight of an exploitative capitalist system that often feels like it’s rigged for the wealthy while the working class grows poorer every day. We are shown that Jerry feels this pressure, experiences immense trauma from it, and is attempting to make sense of it all. Of course, his making sense of things has led him to a dangerous ideology, but his problems and frustration are not unique to him.

The film makes clear that there are plenty of potential Jerry-like people out in the world and that it isn’t that far-fetched that they could get caught up in movements like these because they feel wronged by the system they live under. We see this in the seminars that Jerry and Joe conduct with various homeowners of all races and genders seeking their help because the banks seem to hold all the cards when it comes to their property and livelihoods.

That’s not to say that Sovereign justifies this movement, but it does the work of showing how movements like these gain followers.

Offerman’s haunting performance is coupled perfectly with the vulnerable and compelling acting of Jacob Tremblay. The young man gives a heartbreaking portrayal of a boy torn between loyalty to the only parental figure he knows and his desire for something beyond the ideology and indoctrination.

Offerman and Tremblay have immense chemistry as father and son, which is key, as their relationship is the heart of the film. It’s believable, torturous, and on many levels endearing. Again, Swegal chooses wisely to show the love in their relationship alongside the harmful rhetoric to discourage the audience from hastily placing their bond in one single box.

Dennis Quaid as police chief John Bouchart also provides a formidable performance with his intertwining storyline representing the very law and order that Jerry has come to despise. Martha Plimpton as Lesley Anne has a smaller but just as memorable role as Jerry’s close friend and romantic partner. Unfortunately, while there are other female characters in the film, they don’t get as much dialogue or screentime. This seems like a missed opportunity to explore how these extremist movements affect women as well in various ways. It’s touched upon a bit, but the storyline only scratches the surface.

Sovereign is a slow burn. Since it is based on true events, it lets you know from the very beginning where the story is heading, but then slows it all down to explain how it got there. By focusing more on the emotional complexities, the eventual bloody and violent climax packs an even heavier punch.

The film is a crime thriller but also a human interest story. Its relevance lies in the fact that extremist ideologies continue to draw in followers, influencing adults and youth alike. These groups could be dismissed as simply the occupants of society’s fringes, but it is clear that they present a danger that can’t be easily ignored. Viewers will no doubt feel that they have experienced something they’ll need to unpack long after the credits roll.

Sovereign premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival and will be released by Briarcliff Entertainment theatrically nationwide on July 11, 2025.

We hope you appreciated this article. At People’s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading People’s World and the stories we bring you, please support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today. Thank you!