Instead, Jerry views himself as a \u201csovereign citizen,\u201d and he imparts his extremist philosophy onto his teenage son, Joe (Jacob Tremblay). Jerry has wild conspiracy-fueled beliefs and arcane (incorrect) knowledge of U.S. law that he attempts to use to manipulate his way out of trouble. He travels across the U.S., sharing his anarchic wisdom in donation-based seminars with people hungry for ways to succeed outside the system. Joe appears to be his dad\u2019s ideal student in his homeschooling, but he is desperate for connection with anyone else his age and longs to have the means to survive in the outside world, which is challenging given his father\u2019s isolationist approach toward life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Jerry\u2019s actions have attracted the attention of Chief of Police John Bouchart (Dennis Quaid), who understands what these extremist views often lead to. His own son, Adam (Thomas Mann), has just become a cop \u2014 and a new dad \u2014 and John has plenty of advice for him in both his professional and personal life, including that his new baby should be left to cry it out rather than be consoled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if Sovereign<\/em> didn\u2019t begin with a 911 call from its final act, its conclusion feels inevitable, especially with the title card that proclaims that it was inspired by a true story. There\u2019s no Hollywood ending here; instead, Sovereign<\/em>\u2019s story about an anti-establishment father who has a stash of guns and brings his son to the shooting range can only end in one way. What\u2019s less clear is what writer-director Christian Swegal thinks of the actions on screen and what drives these characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After co-writing the script for the reviled Taraji P. Henson vehicle Proud Mary<\/em>, the filmmaker makes his directorial debut with Sovereign<\/em>. This script <\/em>lacks any investment in why all this happens or what it all means. It presents the story of the Kanes without any insight into Jerry\u2019s motivation for why he believes all of this or what the larger impact of these beliefs is in the real world. It isn\u2019t interested in a deeper exploration into either these characters or their analogues off screen. There\u2019s a bit of bothsidesism at play; Jerry\u2019s ideas lead him and his son into precarious situations, both financially and physically, but the film feints at the idea that the system sucks too with its moments from the younger Bouchart\u2019s time training to be a cop and the elder\u2019s cold approach to parenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sovereign<\/em> is well-made and well-acted (especially by Offerman and Tremblay) in what appears on screen, but it refuses to explore more than these imagined characters in this particular moment. It takes a timid approach (which I kinda get, given the large number of weapons the Kanes and their real-life brethren own), refraining from going even an inch beyond its compelling premise into something more. Swegal appears to have the ambition to make a better, bolder movie, but he pulls his punches with Sovereign<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Sovereign” is in theaters and on demand Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SOVEREIGN2-1024x577.webp\")
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