SOVEREIGN

SOVEREIGN is a drama about an angry, financially struggling man who’s caught up in the fringe “sovereign citizen” movement, which leads to tragedy for his son and the son of a police chief who’s following in his father’s footsteps too. Inspired by a true story, SOVEREIGN features several dynamic performances to render a cautionary tale against stubbornness, with a call for empathy, but the movie is marred by outbursts of anger, two tragic shootings and strong foul language.

The movie opens with 16-year-old Joe Kane alone in his home getting a visit by the local Sheriff and the bank giving notice about a foreclosure hearing. His father, Jerry, is away on a speaking tour. When he returns, Jerry castigates Joe for letting the Sheriff people inside. It turns out that Jerry Kane fancies himself a legal expert. As such, he’s part of the “Sovereign Citizen” movement, which believes that courts, police and DMV authorities have no jurisdiction over them and that landlords and banks are part of a government conspiracy.

Jerry takes Joe to the County Recorder’s office to file an “affidavit of truth” against the foreclosure. However, the lady behind the counter refuses to take it and tries to refer him to the court. So, Jerry just angrily shoves the paper toward her, shouting, “You’ve been served!”

In court, Jerry tries to claim the court has no jurisdiction over him and argues no one can take his house away from him. Joe doesn’t quite understand his father’s argument, since it seems clear they owe mortgage payments to the bank. However, the judge gets frustrated and leaves the court, telling Jerry to come to his chambers. Jerry thinks the judge has just abandoned the hearing because he can’t refute Jerry’s arguments. So, in Jerry’s mind, he thinks he won.

Jerry takes Joe on his next speaking tour. Joe helps his father during the appearances and takes money from the few people who attend.

One night, when they cross the state line, they come to a highway at a state line. Jerry refuses to have a driver’s license or a registration. So, he can’t show them to the policeman, and the policeman arrests Jerry, but he goes willingly.

The local police chief, Jim Bouchart, interviews Joe with a social worker om the room. He tries to convince Joe that his father’s arguments don’t make any sense. They’re apparently based on an idea that birth certificates and Social Security cards are illegal, false identities that make people slaves of the state and its banking system. Jerry thinks that’s unconstitutional. In the father’s parlance, the birth certificate is a “straw man.”

While Jerry is taken to jail, Joe is placed in a detention center with other teenagers. Joe seems to be happy, but after a few days, his father comes to get him. A woman Jerry met on his tours, named Lesley Ann, bailed him out, and the trio travels together for a while.

Meanwhile, Chief Bouchart leads a physical confrontation class for a group of police officers, including his own son, Andy. Before the class, Bouchart chastises Andy for picking up his crying infant son. Don’t spoil the child, he tells Andy. Let him cry.

In another scene, Chief Bouchart conducts a swearing in ceremony for a group of police officers, including Andy. Before the ceremony, Andy follows his father’s advice and lets his son cry.

Eventually, the authorities foreclose on the house, and the local sheriff kick them out. However, Jerry takes it out on his son, because Joe let the sheriff into the house. Now that they’re on the road without a place to stay, it’s only a matter of time before Jerry’s stubborn commitment to his unproven ideals causes real trouble.

SOVEREIGN has changed some of the details in this true story. For example, it changes the name of the Police Chief, who’s played by Dennis Quaid. Also, the real Police Chief never had a previous discussion with Joe and never even met him. However, their lives will cross during a great tragedy where the chief’s son will be shot to death.

SOVEREIGN displays some sympathy for Jerry and especially his son, Joe, who’s at the mercy of his father’s crazy ideas. For example, Jerry is clearly having trouble making ends meet, as do many of the people he lectures. In the true story, however, Joe seems to have adopted his father’s ideas on being a “Sovereign Citizen” hook, line and sinker. Eventually, this put the real Joe Kane on a terrible collision course with police, a collision course which the movie accurately portrays, although it changes the final moments. In fact, the movie seems to turn Joe into more of a victim than he really seems to have been.

Setting those issues aside, SOVEREIGN tells a compelling story based on true life. It features some excellent performances, especially by Nick Offerman as Jerry Kane and Dennis Quaid as the Police Chief. Jacob Tremblay delivers a sensitive performance as Jerry’s son. Joe is trapped between two worlds. The legal system and the banking system can be unforgiving, but his father is a crazy man with anger issues.

In the end, SOVERIGN delivers a cautionary tale against being stubborn and offers a call for empathy. The story of Jerry and Joe Kane is a tragic one, however. The tragedy is real, so the story’s terribly sad. However, the call for empathy in the final scene at least offers viewers some hope. Also, in a subplot, Joe is interested in a girl at school. He likes her on Facebook, and she’s part of a church choir that sings at a funeral service. So, there’s divine hope and comfort in the tragedy that the funeral scene addresses. In fact, the funeral scene implies that Christian faith is best when it occurs within a community of believers. Jerry has separated himself and his son from the wider community. Their connection to faith is superficial and lacks a strong biblical foundation.

Sadly, SOVEREIGN has some strong foul language. There are also scenes of anger and two scenes of intense gun violence and death. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.