Sovereign

While it's script could improve regarding it's structure and pacing, it's a slow-burn yet good exploration character study about the individuals who are anti-government "sovereign citizens" filled with a strong emotional and tenseful atmosphere, good direction, and two great performances from Nick Offerman and Jacob Trembaly.

What director Christian Swegal does well is that capturing the essence of what sovereign citizens are like, capturing their selfish and controversial beliefs without feeling forced or messy. The direction on the tone, the writing and what the purposes for the characters and choices were realistic and tense. Including great themes about the poison settings of indoctrination amongst people and how it can cause an affect on society. Alongside with the good camerawork and soundtrack, as mentioned, Offerman and Trembaly provides great performances to their chilling and uneasy characters, allowing them to have some great dialogue moments and tension between the topics of father and son.

Regarding it's faults, the emotional layer on certain elements and some writing moments did feel a bit short. As if there were patterns and decisions that could have been a bit better. But overall, it's strong debut direction and atmosphere showcases the extremist and unfortunate relevance of today's society in the United States.

This movie is gut turning. Most people recognize the sovereign movement from online videos showing citizens being difficult with law enforcement and then being arrested. What I find important about this film, while it is barely touched directly by the films dialogue, is its presentation of mental illness brought on by trauma. Near the end of the film we see a very brief discussion on a tragedy that, if offered up sooner, would have given the viewer a bit more of a grip on Jerry's mindset and why he had taken up the path he chose. While this movie is a slow burn it is also a rather fast spiral of decision making which held my interest till the end.

I think this and other films like it should be given note since it reflects the actions of people in other real life events. Being able to recognize when someone has fallen down the rabbit hole and landed themselves and others into dangerous waters is useful in life and benefits society. We see the young teen, Joe, in this story obviously confused and without true understanding of the peril he is in. We see the theme of growing up thinking life is "normal" when it's far from it.

I guess many people now can sympathise with the premise of this film: a man fighting big government to keep his house and live as a human. He teaches his homeschooled son only in the ways government ignore individual rights.

I personally sympathise with this..though I'm UK born. I was charged for a free teacher training course that it was impossible to prevent paying for, because the government can take cash directly out of your salary even if you are in dispute. I fought the government for 4 years to legally bring my wife into the country under European freedom of movement. You realise when it comes to politics the government don't care about the law, and they can fight in the courts forever because they have endless tax payers cash. When my wife had depression and became violent, I tried to get help, and being a man authorities(social services) ignored police reports and photos (I'd been stabbed a couple of times) and considered me the problem. Absolutely no due process I'm sure many people are in my position of seeing how the law is empty because the authorities break the law, ignore the law and have made it extremely difficult for the average person to get justice. Indeed now I live off grid in Africa and finally feel some freedom. Indeed I never realised how absolutely crazy and ruthlessly controlling the UK is until I lived in Africa for a while.

So, this film is important. But it isn't exciting. Definitely slow burn. Feel like it's balanced cos this guy is definitely on the fringe and occasionally pushes into unacceptable territory, but it does tie in to something I'm sure many in the west feel today - the need to bow your head to oppressive government that isn't quite following the law.

A tense, absorbing character study that showcases Nick Offerman at his absolute best. Christian Swegal's debut feature, Sovereign, feels remarkably assured, smart, gripping, and full of striking little details that reward close attention. As an indie film, it makes the most of its modest scale to deliver a atmospheric experience that feels both personal and cinematic. Swegal leans into sharp writing, focused direction, and strong performances to build tension without relying on spectacle, proving that indie filmmaking, when done with this level of care and vision, can be just as impactful as big-budget thrillers. A confident, memorable thriller that lingers long after the credits roll.

I saw this movie in theaters with a group of friends, all of us born and raised here in the Midwest. Afterwards the mood was pretty somber because everyone in the group recognized scenes from their own family upbringing. The kid sitting in the backseat listening to Dad rant about the government, cops being trained to immediately rely on overwhelming force, all of it building a system that pushes normal people into potentially violent situations over and over again until eventually somebody pulls a trigger. If you grew up in a working last neighborhood, I can guarantee you're gonna recognize some family members in these characters and chances are that you'll sympathize with each of the main characters. It's a great movie, but it's not a fun movie to watch.