Movie Review: I Swear

Tourette’s Syndrome has not had a great run in pop culture. Despite how serious a disorder, and the stress it puts on the people who have it and those closest to them, Tourette’s is usually played for attempted laughs in movies and TV. From Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo to Not Another Teen Movie to South Park, when a character has Tourette’s, they usually, and uncontrollably, yell obscenities at the most inopportune times. Some movies, like Matchstick Men and Motherless, Brooklyn, have tried a most prestigious approach and gave Tourette’s to their main character, which has always felt more like an awards-bait play to give an esteemed actor a disorder so they can use it to elevate their performance.

Kirk Jones’s I Swear is the first movie I have seen that tackles Tourette’s Syndrome through a lens of empathy and compassion. The film looks at the life of John Davidson, a man diagnosed with Tourette’s at a young age when nobody knew anything about it, which alienated him from his peers and family. I Swear looks at John’s life from when he was diagnosed with Tourette’s as teen, through his time as an adult, and shows the complications he faced throughout his life, like a fractured relationship with his family, violence done towards him, and run-ins with the law all due to misunderstandings, while also showing how John used his experience to become an inspiration to the Tourette’s community. It’s an undeniably moving and important film.

Robert Aramayo plays John, and it is one of the best performances of the year. It’s an impressively lived-in performance, as Aramayo’s performance feels authentic but never showy.  It isn’t an awards play performance (despite Aramayo surprisingly winning Best Actor at this year’s BAFTA awards) and never felt offensive or over-the-top. It felt authentic not just because of the tics and mannerisms of a man with Tourette’s, but because of what is happening behind Aramayo’s eyes. There aren’t huge emotional swings between when something awful happens and when something good happens. Events happen in John’s life, and much of the emotion comes from Aramayo’s eyes. We feel his sadness and, at times, embarrassment when an inopportune tic happens, and we embrace in his joy when something great happens to him. Maybe Aramayo had the benefit of not being as well-known as an actor when taking on such a complicated role, but he is spectacular, and his name could be heard a lot going into the 2026 award season.

Aramayo is elevated by an excellent supporting cast. Maxine Peake plays Dottie Achenbach, a mental health nurse and mother of one of John’s friends. When Dottie realizes John’s mother (a heartbreaking Shirley Henderson) cannot care for him properly, she offers for John to move into her home. She understands John’s disease and works with him on trying to control the tics, while also encouraging him not to be embarrassed by his actions and to be his true self. She helps John get a job working as a caretaker assistant at a community center with Tommy Trotter (Peter Mullan). Tommy, like Dottie, lets John be himself. He pays no attention to the tics or the swearing and looks at the man John is, who is a hard worker who makes a great cup of tea. Peake and Mullan give wonderful performances that help lift the movie’s themes of acceptance and understanding.

While some scenes felt forced and made the film run slightly too long, I Swear is an undeniably sweet and emotional film. Jones made a movie about empathy and communication, and about how we should ask questions before immediately judging. Anchored by Aramayo’s brilliant performance, I Swear is an effective and important movie.

TL;DR Review of I Swear

• An important and emotional movie about Tourette’s Syndrome and the importance of empathy and communication.
• Richard Aramayo gives a brilliant performance as John Davidson.
• The supporting cast is excellent, with Maxine Peake and Peter Mullan 
• A little long, but essential viewing.

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