Christian Swegal’s “Sovereign” (2025) is based on the true story of a father and a son who tragically lost their lives in a violent shootout, and the ending reconstructs the real-life incident that led to their deaths. However, the film is far from being your run-of-the-mill action thriller that banks on the kicks of their lust for violence. Instead, it presents a bleak portrait of the effects of a kind of radicalization that has become normalized in today’s world. At its core is a man (played by Nick Offerman) whose extremist beliefs make him a suspect in the eyes of the law. However, he is not one of the innocent civilians tortured while merely trying to make a decent living.
Offerman’s character is associated with the sovereign citizen movement, which has been prominent in predominantly English-speaking countries. Despite pretending to be a savior, he is a victim of a prevailing narrative of victimizing oneself to bring back the ‘good ol’ days.’ His belief system is entirely rooted in individualistic notions instead of collective gain. It leeches onto his tragic sense of loss and exploits him. The film doesn’t dive into the part of history that led him to choose this path. Instead, it shows the effect of his extremism on the next generation by observing his world through his son’s eyes. Underneath the mechanics of this operation lies a spine-chilling account of an innocent boy, indoctrinated to the point of no return.
The film is cold and brutal, much like its ending, where all you can hear are the mind-numbing shots fired. However, it is far from your usual flashy, sadistic, or voyeuristic display of violence.
Spoilers ahead
Sovereign (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Written and directed by Christian Swegal, “Sovereign” is a crime thriller that follows two anti-government extremists who are part of the sovereign citizen movement.
What happens in Sovereign, starring Nick Offerman?
Set in 2010, the film opens with a police radio message detailing a crime scene where two cops are found dead, somewhere on a highway surrounded by woods. We don’t learn any details about them or the shootout until much later. Instead, we meet Joe Cane (Jacob Tremblay), a teenager on the cusp of adulthood, alone in a suburban house. Someone knocks on his door. He opens to find a lawyer representing a local bank with the local county sheriff. The lawyer tells him about a foreclosure on his house and reveals a 30-day deadline to leave the premises. Then, they will auction it and offer cash in exchange.
Joe accepts the document but hardly speaks. He seems to be on his guard, not aggressive, but defensive. Once they leave, he notices three girls walking next door. He doesn’t speak with them even if it seems like he wants to. Soon, his father, Jerry (Nick Offerman), returns home. Joe prepares him a meal and tells him about the foreclosure. Jerry rejects the bank’s terms, claiming they have no say in these matters since they don’t hold an underlying note. He avoids telling Joe anything more. Later, he partakes in an internet radio show. He discusses his process for fighting against the bank with an ‘affidavit of truth’.
Jerry expects Joe to know the Bill of Rights by heart so he can recite it at any time. He uses them to make Joe discredit the authorities trying to control him. Throughout their interactions, Jerry behaves as if he is the sole harbinger of truth, and he has always been coerced into being a part of a system that doesn’t serve him. He wants Joe to feel the same.
How does Jerry fight to claim his house?
Jerry doesn’t follow the legal procedures to regain control over his house and refuses to pay what he is due. Instead, he forces a government employee to accept his affidavit instead of pleading in the superior court. This doesn’t end there. He preaches these lessons to a bunch of impressionable, underprivileged people who otherwise get pressured into doing things by those in power. Jerry travels across American towns, offering them seminars. He walks around as if he is their kind-hearted messiah, but all he is doing is banking on their vulnerabilities to make a buck.
Jerry brings Joe to these sessions and gets him to record them. Later, he buys firearms and teaches Joe how to use them. Joe abides by Jerry’s crooked morals because he sees no other option. There is no mother or sibling in sight, and he doesn’t even talk to anyone his age. He either spends time with his father or lives under the pressure of his influence. Eventually, it all unravels when Jerry gets pulled over by a cop. He realizes that Jerry doesn’t have a valid driving license or any other document that legally allows him to drive the car. So, Jerry gets arrested while Joe gets taken to a government facility for troubled kids like him.
While there, Joe listens to other victims of similar harassment. They speak freely, and he doesn’t. Still, he feels chipper than he has been with his father. Still, he doesn’t say anything against Jerry. Once Jerry gets out of custody, Joe leaves with him and his friend, Lesley Anne (Martha Plimpton), whom Jerry helped earlier.
How does Jerry’s arrest impact Joe?
Jerry’s arrest makes Joe realize that there is a world outside that doesn’t live by the rules his father dictates. He begins to question Jerry’s moral code and asks why they can’t just pay back the bank if they have the money to do so. It gets on Jerry’s nerves, who gets furious that Joe even dared to doubt his intentions. Soon, he attends a court session to defend himself, but struggles to convince the judge of his terms of home ownership. The frustrated judge walks out of the court. Jerry concludes that behaviour is his victory.
As it happens, Joe starts opening up to new possibilities to lead his life. While at the facility, he realizes that his father hasn’t followed the proper procedure needed for homeschooling a child. However, as soon as he takes a step in this direction, the cops knock on his door, forcefully evicting him and Jerry.
Sovereign (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
Jerry blames Joe for letting the officers inside the house. In a moment of panic, he also forces Joe to kill him to free himself of the burden. Suddenly, he starts sobbing, leaving the poor kid to act more responsibly. While running away from the legal procedure, Jerry struggles to find a place where they can stay. He also starts running out of money. So, Leslie Anne allows him to live at her place. While driving there, he gets pulled over by Officer Adam Bouchart (Thomas Mann) and his associate. Jerry doesn’t answer any of their questions, forcing them to handcuff him. Joe sees it from the car and panics. Within moments, he starts shooting, killing both officers. Jerry gets back in the car and drives away.
Soon, Adam’s father, John (Dennis Quaid), shows up there to find Adam dead. (This is the crime scene introduced in the opening scene.) As it happens, Jerry rushes to clear any signs of Joe’s connection to the murders. He doesn’t even let Joe catch his breath after what happened. It upsets Joe, who starts running away. He breaks down in tears, hoping to be with his mother at home instead. Jerry calms him. Still, he can’t get past his thoughts of ‘conquering’ the authorities. Soon, he takes Joe to a convenience store. There, Joe sees the girl that he secretly likes, but doesn’t even greet her.
What happens to Jerry and Joe Cane in the end?
Jerry walks back into his car, only to get surrounded by police cars. So, he starts shooting in their direction. Before he can think clearly, a black car crashes into him. He walks out and starts shooting every cop he can. As everyone starts firing bullets, John shows up there. He joins the police to shoot Jerry and Joe to death. In the film’s somber final moments, John’s family grieves Adam’s loss at a church. Then, back home, John hears his grandkid’s cries and calms him. Through these moments, the film becomes more than just a forgettable crime thriller. It offers a solemn nod to healthy father-son relationships that rely on mutual trust and communication.
Sovereign (2025) Movie Themes Analysed:
Fatherhood and Father-Son Relationships
“Sovereign” is a chilling re-enactment of an actual incident, but it is also about fatherhood. Besides Jerry and Joe, it follows John and Adam, who have an orthodox father-son relationship. John admires Adam’s sense of responsibility but is not particularly vocal about his appreciation. He belongs to a generation that was seemingly raised without any warmth or compassion. So, he doesn’t like it when Adam lets his baby take over a considerable part of his energy. Adam cares for his child far more than John seems to have ever done.
John and Adam’s relationship is far from extreme. Still, Adam yearns for the same parental warmth that Jerry expects from Joe. It’s like these sons have to live by their father’s morals— otherwise, their lives are worthless. Jerry cares for Joe only when and because he abides by him. In the end, Joe loses his life because of Jerry. That doesn’t happen with Adam and John. Still, Adam’s loss makes John reconsider his stance. The ending, where he calms his crying grandkid, seemingly represents his transformation into a more considerate person.
The final moments also highlight a tinge of John’s regret for not letting Adam feel the same love or support. As soon as John begins to take a step in that direction, Adam tragically dies. So, aside from the fragility of life, the film is about these regrets of men, refusing to change themselves for a greater good, only to realize where they wronged, much later.
Indoctrination, Extremism, and Individualism
The extremist beliefs are at the core of “Sovereign,” which acts like a ticking bomb, about to explode at any given moment. The film shows the terrifying effects of indoctrination that lead Joe to have a say in the matters of his life. It strips him of any sense of identity besides what Jerry forces onto him. That makes it extremely difficult to escape the clutches of his father’s control, even if being directed in other ways of being. Apart from indoctrination, the film also highlights the extremes of individualism, which is a crucial part of Jerry’s doctrine.
Jerry’s real story is steeped in the tragedies of his daughter’s untimely loss, among others, which makes him vulnerable to the grifters of similarly individualistic philosophies. However, as an inherently social being, its extremes are far from ethical for any human being.
