I Swear (film)

I Swear is a 2025 British biographical drama film directed, written, and produced by Kirk Jones. It is based on the true life story of John Davidson, a Scottish man with severe Tourette syndrome who was the subject of the 1989 television documentary John's Not Mad.^[5] The film stars Robert Aramayo as Davidson, alongside Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson, and Peter Mullan in supporting roles. Scott Ellis Watson makes his acting debut as a young Davidson.

I Swear premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2025, and was released in the United Kingdom by StudioCanal on 10 October 2025. It was acclaimed by critics, who praised the performances of Aramayo and Mullan. The film received five nominations at the 79th British Academy Film Awards, winning two, including Best Actor in a Leading Role for Aramayo.

In 1983, 12-year-old John Davidson lives with his working class family in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. With aspirations to become a football player, John begins his high school term at Galashiels Academy. Hearing that a scout will assess his skills as a goalie, John begins experiencing episodes of tics and uncontrollable coprolalia. The head teacher responds by whipping John's hand with a belt. This injury and his tics result in his performing poorly at football while being watched by the scout, to the disappointment of his father. John accidentally starts a fight with another student after swearing at them during a tic episode, and the head teacher, believing John to be faking his tics for attention, curtly tells him to find a new school. John is banished from the dining table by his mother Heather and made to eat in front of the fireplace after spitting during dinner. His condition strains his parents' marriage, and Heather informs John and his siblings that their father has abandoned the home. Distraught, John attempts suicide by walking into a river, but is rescued and wakes up in hospital.

In 1996, John, now 25, is still living with his mother and has been diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, which has no cure. John is medicated with haloperidol, but his tics remain an embarrassment. Murray, a friend of John's from school, returns from Australia after his mother is told she has liver cancer. John turns down Murray's invitation to join the family for dinner, but Dottie, Murray's mother and a mental health nurse, insists that he come in and senses John's discomfort. She asks about his medication, and the family agrees that John should stay with them, much to Heather's despair. John is weaned off his medication and told by Dottie never to apologise for his tics when around people who know that his behaviour is uncontrollable. Murray brings John to a nightclub, but a ticcing episode starts a brawl, after which John is remanded overnight and charged with assault.

Dottie gets John a job at the local community centre. The elderly caretaker, Tommy, shows John around and does not react to his tics until John unwittingly smacks Tommy's dog. John excuses himself, assuming that he has ruined his chances. However, Murray's family surprise John at home, saying that not only did he get the caretaker assistant's job but that the growth on Dottie's liver is benign, a haemangioma. John is sent to collect a takeaway to celebrate, but is hospitalised by two thugs in the street after calling a woman a "slut" in an uncontrolled outburst. Dottie stays at his side and assures him the job will be waiting for him.

John starts work with Tommy, who shares his view that Tourette's does not cause his problems, but rather a lack of awareness by others. At the trial, John is unable to finish the oath without swearing at the judge, who removes him from the stand. Tommy, as character witness, defends John's behaviour as uncontrollable, saying that if a blind man were to be in same situation, matters would not have escalated. The case is dismissed. Later, John visits Tommy at home afterwards and finds him dead. After Tommy's funeral, John assumes that he will lose his job, but instead learns he has been promoted.

A family from a local hospital is referred to John to meet their daughter, also struggling with Tourette's. John starts hosting Tourette's workshops at the community centre, and giving talks at schools and police stations to raise awareness. He is eventually named MBE by the Queen in 2019. After receiving the award at Holyrood Palace, John shows the medal to his mother and explains why he did not invite her. His mother apologises for being short-tempered with him in his youth, and the two tearfully reconcile.

In 2023, John works with researchers at University of Nottingham to test a treatment device: a non-invasive median nerve stimulation (MNS) device worn as a bracelet. The stimulation calms his tics sufficiently to allow him to remain quiet during an entire visit to the library. On the train home, he strikes up a conversation with a woman, demonstrating his growing confidence.

The film ends with footage of the real John Davidson, who was the subject of several BBC documentaries, starting with John's Not Mad, along with a postscript emphasising the importance of societal awareness in the management of Tourette's.

Robert Aramayo's casting as Davidson was revealed on 27 August 2024,^[6] and Peter Mullan's role was announced on 6 November.^[7]

Director Kirk Jones later admitted that he had cast Aramayo without an audition. "I knew Robert was right for the part very early on," Jones said. "[A]nd because the finance was structured in a certain way, I was able to cast him without having to justify that decision or ask for people's permission to do it – which is the purest way to cast the film. That's how it should be done. A lot of people are surprised when I say I never asked him to do a screen test. I never asked him to audition, and that's quite unusual. The reason was, I knew that if he auditioned it would be nothing more than an impersonation of John Davidson."^[8]

Aramayo spent three months with Davidson in the latter's hometown of Galashiels, learning everything he could about Davidson's life. He also did various Zoom calls with other people with Tourette's.^[9]

Filming began in and around Glasgow between July and September 2024,^[10] wrapping in August.^[6] Locations included Strathblane Church and the Hippodrome Cinema in Bo'ness, which is Scotland's oldest cinema.^[11][12][13]

In February 2025, Bankside Films launched pre-sales for I Swear at the EFM; a promo shown to buyers in Berlin revealed the first-look image.^[14]

The film premiered in the Centrepiece programme at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.^[15]

I Swear was released in the United Kingdom on 10 October 2025.^[16]

In October 2025, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights to the film in the United States, Latin America, Turkey, Portugal, Southeast Asia, South Korea and most of Eastern Europe for a release on April 24, 2026.^[17]

The film became available on Netflix UK in March 2026 as part of a first window deal with StudioCanal.^[18]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 47 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "A deft balance of prickly and sweet that's bound together by Robert Aramayo's knockout performance, I Swear doesn't sugarcoat the challenges of Tourette syndrome while delivering an uplifting tale of resilience."^[19] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 14 critics, which the site labels as "generally favorable" reviews.^[20]

At its premiere in September 2025, I Swear earned positive reviews for its humane tone and standout performance. Variety praised Aramayo's turn as "flawless" and described the film's balance of earnestness and subtle humour.^[21] The Guardian called it "funny, fierce and full of heart," noting how the film avoids sentimentality in portraying Tourette's.^[22] In the Financial Times, the review observed that the film "is both serious and larky," commending its tonal restraint.^[23]

The film’s depiction of a 1990 nightclub incident differs from the court record. On 10 March 1990, Davidson was charged in connection with an alleged assault on Owen Jardine (aged 17), a resident of Roxburgh near Kelso, outside Digby’s nightclub in Galashiels. Jardine sustained a broken nose during the incident. Davidson appeared before Selkirk District Court on 15 November 1990, where Magistrate Groves described the incident as “very unfortunate.” Davidson was found not guilty, and compensation was awarded to Jardine for his injuries.^[24][25]

• I Swear at IMDb
• I Swear at Rotten Tomatoes