I Swear (2026) Sony Pictures Classics/Drama RT: 120 minutes Rated R (language throughout and some violence) Director: Kirk Jones Screenplay: Kirk Jones Music: Stephen Rennicks Cinematography: James Blann Release date: April 24, 2026 (US) Cast: Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson, Peter Mullan, David Carlyle, Steven Cree, Francesco Piacentini-Smith, Scott Ellis Watson, Jamie McAllistar, Adam McNamara, Christina Modestou.
Rating: ****
SLEEPER ALERT! That’s right, I’m sounding the alarm. It’s my duty to alert you to an extraordinary film that might get by you if you don’t keep a sharp look out for it. It’s not likely to open in more than a handful of cinemas so you’re really going to have to be on the ball. I wouldn’t want you to miss it.
Now, with no further ado, here’s the title. It’s called I Swear and I swear that you will love it. I never heard of it until last night when it turned out to be this week’s AMC Screen Unseen feature. The ones that choose the films don’t always get it right (The Mastermind anybody?), but this week they absolutely nailed it. It’s a British-made BOATS drama about John Davidson, a Scottish man with severe Tourette syndrome. He was previously the subject of the BBC documentary John’s Not Mad that first aired in 1989 as part of the Q.E.D. series. Footage from it is shown during the end credits.
Written and directed by Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine), I Swear follows John from age 13 (played by Scott Ellis Watson) when symptoms of Tourette’s (i.e. uncontrollable tics, spitting and swearing) first started showing. He is ostracized at school and at home, mainly by his mother (Henderson, Bridget Jones’s Diary) who won’t even acknowledge anything’s wrong with him until he tries to take his own life. Even then, she’s not all that sympathetic.
The movie jumps ahead to when John (BAFTA winner Aramayo), now a young adult, continues to struggle with his condition. He is still living at home with his mother who takes care of him while still keeping her emotional distance. He bumps into an old classmate (Smith) who invites him to lunch at his house with his family. The mother Dottie (Peake, The Theory of Everything), who’s dealing with liver cancer, takes an immediate liking to John and invites him to move in so they can take care of each other. A mental health nurse, she helps him get his symptoms under control, weaning him off his medication which is actually making things worse.
I Swear follows us through John’s life from him getting his first job at a community center to becoming an advocate for those with Tourette’s, an endeavor that resulted in an MBE appointment from the Queen in 2019. Don’t freak out. This is NOT a spoiler. The movie opens with it.
I Swear belongs in the same category as My Left Foot (1989), The King’s Speech (2010) and The Theory of Everything (2014). It’s an inspiring story that rings with realism. It features a sympathetic main character with no control over the vile words that came out of his mouth. He uses racial, homophobic and sexist slurs. He has a tic that makes it necessary for others to always stay on his left side (he punches to the right). He’s a lot to take, but it can’t be helped. In the role, Aramayo does an incredible job. He realistically depicts Tourette’s without overdoing it. He finds the flawed humanity in John without ever making him an object of pity. Instead of hiding his disability (not that he can), John takes it public, sharing his story in order to help others understand Tourette’s. In his words, “The problem is not Tourette’s, the problem is that people don’t know enough about Tourette’s.” Aramayo nails it perfectly. No wonder he won a BAFTA for his amazing, flawless performance.
The acting in I Swear is great across the board from Peake as the motherly figure who helps John become independent to Henderson as the cold mother who has no idea how to deal with her disabled son. The latter believably captures her character’s barely concealed resentment over her husband walking out when he realizes his son won’t be a football star. Another fantastic performance comes from Peter Mullan (Trainspotting) as John’s boss at the community center, a patient man who only asks that John never hit his dog (again). He’s the one who encourages John to help the public gain a better understanding of his condition. He’s such a great character.
I swear, I Swear is absolutely perfect in every way. Jones strikes just the right tone. It’s dramatic, but not overly so. It’s funny, but never at the expense of its protagonist. He never holds back in showing the symptoms of John’s condition and the sometimes violent reactions of strangers. One of the best moments is John’s first Tourette’s workshop. It’s the first time these kids and teens are being seen. I couldn’t stop smiling.
I Swear is a tearjerker in the best way. You’ll cry and you’ll laugh. It’s a nice movie. It’s also a well made one. Nobody does drama like the British. It always feels so real. There’s none of the polish of Hollywood. This is a film you really should check out. If you have to drive a bit, do it. You won’t regret it. I swear you won’t.
