I Swear 2026 Movie Review
I went to the Cineworld Secret Screening last night, that ended up being “I Swear” a return to the directors’ chair in almost a decade for Kirk Jones, and his first lower budget British film since his debut “Waking Ned”.
Just as he’s starting secondary school in Galashields, in the 1980’s, John Davidson (Scott Ellis Watson / Robert Aramayo) develops a series of uncontrollable ticks and outbursts. Bullied by classmates, castigated by teachers and driving the final wedge into his family, the tries to commit suicide. He survives though, as a decade or so later has been diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome. His life only really improves though when he meets Dottie Achenbach (Maxine Peake) the mother of an old friend, who was a mental health nurse and who is the first person to really accept him for who he is.
A couple of early walkouts, from people who were, I assume hoping for something different, but generally the vast majority of the audience stayed for the screening and seemed to have enjoyed it. The film is often quite funny. It’s perhaps the nature of Tourette’s that some of the outbursts can be quite funny, particularly those with a transgressive aspect to them. Obviously, it’s not funny to see John strike other, or himself and the film is not a comedy. Indeed, there’s far more tragedy to it than you might expect, though it does open with Davidson’s MBE ceremony, so it’s always tempered with the idea that things will work out.
The film does have a wonderful central performance from Robert Aramayo, unrecognisable from his role in “Rings of Power”. I would imagine that, at the very least, the best actor BAFTA is in the bag already, if not a few bigger awards, depending on how wide the film goes. Scott Ellis Watson also deserves praise for his time as the younger Davidson, who also suffers at the hands of an unsympathetic world.
I can’t imagine I’ll want to see it very often, just due to the subject matter but it’s a wonderfully made and performed film.
