MOVIES BASED on Real People: “Sovereign.” / “Eden.” / “The Last Manhunt.” / “Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story.” / “The Banker.”

“Sovereign” (2025, Hulu) crime thriller, based on the events surrounding the 2010 West Memphis police shootings. A father and son align themselves with the sovereign citizen movement and clash with the Police Chief. 

       Written and directed by Christian Swegal, this movie doesn't mince words or ramble around the bushes of an oft-ranted thesis. Almost like a documentary feature. Dark but not bloody, piercing but not (too politically) preachy.  

       The film follows Jerry and Joe Kane, a father and son who align themselves with the sovereign citizen movement and eventually clash with the police.

       Heavy stuff, indeed. The Sovereign citizen movement (or SovCits) is a loose group of anti-government activists, conspiracy theorists, vexatious litigants, tax protesters and financial scammers.

        They have a pseudolegal belief system based on misinterpretations of common law, and claim not to be subject to any government statutes unless they consent to them. The movement appeared in the U.S. in the early 1970s and has since expanded to other countries; the similar freeman on the land movement emerged during the 2000s in Canada before spreading to other Commonwealth countries.

       “Sovereign” is essentially a Nick Offerman tour de force as Jerry Kane; a performance so unhinged and focused, I wondered why Nick didn't win any award for this. 

       Meanwhile, we saw how an obedient and helpless son got wasted due to his father's fantastic insistence to stick to a lost cause or a dead-end reactionary extremism. As the confused Joe, young Jacob Tremblay is a quiet revelation. 🎥💻📽

“Eden” (2024, Netflix) historical survival thriller film directed by Ron Howard, based on the true story of several European settlers, including Margret Wittmer, who arrive on the isolated Floreana Island, in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, pre-World War II, hoping to start a life there. 

       Stars Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney and Daniel Brühl. Ms Sweeney is Margret Wittmer.

       The dramatization of the real story seems aligned with the accounts. But Mr Howard's proven filmmaking brilliance got enmeshed in a daytime-soap kitsch here, sadly. Yet “Eden” is still entertaining, credited to the cast's alluring energy and salacious verve.🎥💻📽

“The Last Manhunt” (2022, Paramount+) Western film. In 1909 Willie Boy and his love, Carlota, go on the run after he accidentally shoots her father in a confrontation gone terribly wrong. You may want to google more info about this historic manhunt legend to spice up your viewing pleasure. 

       Directed by Christian Camargo and written by Thomas Pa'a Sibbett from a story by Sibbett and Jason Momoa, this movie is a more in-depth navigation of the characters or trackers involved in the pursuit over who really was Willie Boy. But no whinings there. Mr Camargo's reading offers depth and insight to the Paiute legend rather than adventure/action swagger. 

       The acting is effectively restrained but deeply engaged: Camargo, Momoa, Lily Gladstone, Zahn McClarnon, and Raoul Max Trujillo. But not so much Martin Sensmeier as Willy Boy.

       A recommended companion watch is 1969's “Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here,” starring Robert Redford. 🎥💻📽

“Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story” (2022, Netflix). The dramatized “true” story of nurse Melanie McGuire, whose ire with husband Bill leads first to an affair, then to Bills' murder, and her heinous, macabre treatment of his remains are a shock to the community and her family, at her trial.

       Would have been an interesting off-Facebook respite, right? But this poorly-acted, awfully-directed “daytime suds” pushed me back to my political rants on Social Media. LOL! 🎭👎🎬

“The Banker” (2020, Apple TV+) period drama about Joe Morris and Bernard Garrett, two of the first African-American bankers in the United States. 

       This movie had a strong fact-based story but the navigation is weak, diminishing its intended impact. But a commendable performance by Anthony Mackie as Bernard Garrett and the always fine Nicholas Hoult as Matt Steiner. 🎥💻📽