Review: I Swear

Synopsis:

I SWEAR is the inspiring, extraordinary life story of notable Tourette Syndrome campaigner, John Davidson, MBE. Kirk Jones’ emotionally engaging, funny and compelling film charts John Davidson’s Tourette’s diagnosis at the age of 14 years old. Set within 1980s Britain, the story follows him throughout his troubled teens and early adulthood, and explores this little known and entirely misunderstood condition, along with his attempts to live a ‘normal’ life against the odds.

What We Thought:

I Swear is the proper way to do an uplifting story without beating the audience’s heads in with cheese and melodrama. It’s an absolute crowd pleaser with tons of laughs and heart and one of the best performances of 2025 (when it was released in the UK).

Going into the movie I knew absolutely nothing about it. I knew there was some controversy involving an award show, but I knew nothing about the story, the man it’s about or anyone in it. The less you know the better the film is because you have no expectations on where it will go, how it will end or any of the ups and downs that John Davidson faced in his life.

Davidson’s life is perfect for this style of film. He was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome during a time period where people had no experience with it. He was bullied in school and had difficulties in life because people either thought he was faking it or simply could not put up with his words and ticks. His own family wanted nothing to do with him with his father leaving because of it. He finds comfort in a friend’s family and gets a job helping out in a center where he finally feels like he has value in life. Through this job he discovers an ability to help others like him and eventually become a face of Tourette Syndrome.

The film lives and breathes on the award worthy performance of Robert Aramayo as Davidson. He took home a deserved BAFTA for his portrayal and to me gave the best leading male performance of 2025. Aramayo is hysterical and heartbreaking and instantly grabs your attention and takes you on this ride. He dominates the big screen and will make you laugh and get emotional every other minute. I don’t know why this wasn’t released in the US in time for our award season because he would have easily been nominated. It is a breakthrough performance and I can’t wait to see what he does next.

I Swear is the type of movie we don’t see getting made as often as we used to. There’s no comic book hero fighting an alien robot. It’s not a hot YA book series being adapted for the big screen. It’s a film for adults wanting to feel something. It’s a film about a human being with no real agenda other than bringing awareness and helping those like him. Aramayo is charming and will make you belly laugh. You’ll squirm in anxiety one minute and clap your hands and cheer the next. People need to support films like this while we still get them.