I Swear

Director: Kirk Jones

John Davidson (Scott Ellis Watson) is a teenager, polite, hard working with a life ahead of him. But life changes, as a series of tics and involuntary actions are the start of Tourette’s. We rejoin John (Robert Aramayo) 16 years later, when a chance meeting leads him to Dot (Maxine Peake), a psychiatric nurse, and a relationship that changes John’s life. With the help of a caretaking job, Dot and his new boss Tommy (Peter Mullan). John heads on a road through tough times into an advocate for education around Tourette’s and to support others with the condition.

I Swear is a fantastic piece of work, it’s a warm, thoughtful, often heartbreaking look at a poorly understood condition.

What the film does remarkably well, is it never makes John’s tics and swearing something comedic. The script and incredible performances by both Ellis Watson and Aramayo, provide a level of insight into the difficult world that John and others with Tourette’s have to deal with. Aramayo ,in particular, paints a graphic picture of an unbelievably tiring existence. Dealing day to day with something that makes it difficult to have relationships , find work, or function in a “normal” environment and it’s a gruelling watch. But it’s not a gruelling film, it’s a film of hope, opportunity and of a life to be lived, not suffered.

The performances are great, Maxine Peake, Peter Mullan and Shirley Henderson as John’s mother offer great support. But it is Ellis Scott and Aramayo who make this work, both present John’s struggles in a way that is compelling, endearing and heartbreaking.

I Swear is a film about an inspirational man. It has two incredible performances by actors portraying John at different ages. The performances take you into the heart of this condition that feels so exhausting and gruelling, but both are delivered with such heart you can only be engaged. I Swear is an outstanding piece of work about a little understood condition, Tourette’s, and deserves a big audience.