I Swear, is Kirk Jones’ biopic about John Davidson, a man from Galashiels, Scotland, who lives with Tourette’s syndrome.
His condition manifests in severe physical and vocal tics such as grimacing, spitting and involuntary arm movements. Most disruptive of all is his uncontrollable swearing.
The kind of thoughts most people instantly suppress are the very ones John can’t stop from voicing. Offensive, inappropriate and shocking words erupt without warning and entirely against his will.
Growing up in the 1980s, when awareness of Tourette’s was limited, John’s life became a battleground. His symptoms begin in adolescence and worsen rapidly. At school he is punished and beaten for behaviour he cannot control and is eventually expelled. At home, tensions mount. He struggles to find work, relationships or dignity. The isolation is crushing and, at his lowest point, he attempts to take his own life.
The film opens later in his life as John prepares to receive recognition from Queen Elizabeth II for his advocacy work on behalf of people with Tourette’s. From there, director Kirk Jones unfolds the story in flashback, charting the painful and improbable path that led him there.
A turning point comes when John, now in his mid twenties and heavily medicated, reconnects with an old classmate. Through him he meets Dotty, a nurse battling cancer. Dotty understands Tourette’s and, crucially, understands that John’s drug heavy treatment is dulling his spirit rather than helping him live. She offers him something radical: acceptance. A safe space. A refusal to treat him as broken. What follows is not a miraculous cure but gradual empowerment. John begins to rebuild his confidence, find purpose and ultimately create support networks for others like him.
In lesser hands, this story could have tipped into sentimentality. But Jones avoids easy manipulation. John is never portrayed as saintly. He is funny, warm and occasionally difficult, fully human. The humour that arises from certain situations feels organic rather than exploitative, while the darker moments are handled with restraint. The film does not wallow in tragedy. It focuses on resilience, which is what makes it uplifting rather than mawkish.
Robert Aramayo delivers an extraordinary performance as the adult John. Easily the best of his career so far.
He reportedly spent months in Galashiels, immersing himself in Davidson’s world and studying his mannerisms and dialect and the commitment shows. I had to look up whether he was actually Scottish or not.
His physicality and vocal control are astonishing, but more impressive still is the gentleness he brings to the role. Beneath the chaos of the tics is a man of immense heart and vulnerability.
The supporting cast, including Maxine Peake as Dotty and Peter Mullan as the quietly supportive Tommy, match him throughout. Exposition is delivered lightly, often through dry humour rather than speeches. No one lectures and no one begs for sympathy.
I Swear avoids the usual pitfalls of biopics. It doesn’t want us to pity John. It wants us to understand him. In doing so, it becomes not just a crowd pleaser but one of the year’s best films.
Highly recommended.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I swear arrives on Netflix in the UK on 10th of March.