"For a film about rage, this is a rather chilly, uncomfortable drama. It's inspired by the true-life story of Jerry and Joseph Kane, father and son anti-government extremists; Jerry was a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen who believed that the government was illegitimate and he could decide which laws to opt out of. He's played here by Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation), giving a vein-popping, fist-clenchingly believable performance."
"It is Arkansas, 2010. Sixteen-year-old Joe opens the door to a sheriff handing him an eviction notice; his dad is behind on the mortgage payments. Even when he has the money, Jerry won't pay the bank on principle. He's a minor celebrity, a regular on right-wing radio stations, travelling the midwest in a white suit like a cheap preacher giving seminars on how to avoid mortgage foreclosures (a hat gets passed around at the end for donations)."
"The skill of Offerman's performance is showing Jerry's charisma but also the shallowness of it. He's every bit as desperate as the people he advises, with a terrifying streak of nihilism. Tremblay is equally convincing as poor Joe. When his dad is briefly jailed for traffic violations (he refuses to carry a driver's licence or insure the car) there is a brief window of opportunity for Joe to escape Jerry's conspiracies."
Sovereign follows Jerry Kane, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen in Arkansas in 2010, and his son Joe. Jerry refuses to accept government legitimacy, avoids laws he dislikes, refuses to pay his mortgage on principle, and builds a minor-right-wing celebrity career giving foreclosure-avoidance seminars. Nick Offerman portrays Jerry with charisma and shallow, desperate nihilism, while Jacob Tremblay plays Joe as a quiet teenager torn between loyalty and escape. Jerry's brief jailing for traffic violations creates a window for Joe to break free. A parallel subplot features a tough police chief and his novice-officer son, using chokehold training as a metaphor for overbearing fathers. The film maintains a chilly, muscular tension throughout.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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