Sovereign is a riveting dramatic thriller about a father set on a path of delusion that is ultimately self-destructive for not only himself, but his son’s livelihood. It’s not just your average biographical drama - this is a heartbreaking tragedy. 

 

Nick Offerman is tremendous, offering one of his best dramatic performances since The Last of Us and rivaling (my personal favorite) his 2018 Hearts Beat Loud role. Offerman’s Jerry is sincere in his passion for what he believes is the rightful way of living in society. His character lives in a reality where the world is out to get him, full of liars and cheats looking to break the “real laws” of man. The real difference between his role here and his role in the other mentioned films is that this isn’t a tale of a good person being screwed over by the system (or the world), it’s a story about a man trapped in his own psyche that the world is out to get him.

 

Jacob Tremblay provides a very subdued performance in comparison to Offerman, internalizing a mass majority of his emotions inside. Apart from his breakout in Room and his portrayal of Auggie in Wonder, this is Tremblay at his absolute best - maturing his strengths as an actor with age. He’s still a teenager and you can see the hardship that he must endure when he attempts to help his father come to the reality of the world he is living in, to no avail. 

 

Tremblay’s Joe is left home alone often, in a decrepit home with the bank and police at the door foreclosing the property. Jerry on the other hand is out on the road spreading his “sermon” and advice of how the word is not really what people think it is. Next door, a neighbor that Joe fancies but never finds the courage to address comes and goes from the film’s narrative with no benefit to the overarching story. This subplot serves as an escape for Joe in the way that he wants to pursue a normal life, but her continued appearance in the film becomes distracting. 

 

With foreclosure on the house and Jerry not willing to own up to his debts - the father and son team up to travel the country and give the good word. Unfortunately for them, after a routine police stop - Jerry is arrested and Joe is temporarily placed in Child Service’s custody until fate brings the two back together. There’s an obvious love the two share for one another as a parent and child, but they also clearly do not share the same values. 

 

The chief of police in charge of the arrest, John Bouchart played by Dennis Quaid is a sharp contrast to Offerman’s Joe. His son, grown and just graduating from the police academy, is provided the strict lay down of authority; how to operate under the law and how to be a “proper” father. His son Adam played by Thomas Mann wants to be there for his newborn baby, while also taking his father’s advice of how to raise the kid - to an unfortunate degree. Quaid puts on an accent (assuredly close to the real person) and plays up the hard personality of someone who grew up under strict guidance and is transferring that knowledge to their son. As someone unfamiliar with this real life case, the involvement of this subplot confused me at first until all the elements came together for the thrilling, saddening final act. One father and son obeys the law, while the other believes they do. 

 

Christian Swegal’s direction is impeccable, allowing the drama on screen to take center stage and the performances to stand out over everything else. In the end Sovereign is a twisted family drama engulfed in tragedy, a film that’s not afraid to explore the pain and trauma of those in the wrong.