I Swear Movie Review

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“I Swear” is based on a true story and is a piece of storytelling brilliance. There have been other good movies this year, I’ve been impressed with 2026 so far, but this is something special. I have to say one thing that I hope you attach great significance to… don’t mistake this for something to watch another time. See it now.  

The film flips back and forth from when Tourette’s syndrome first started to his life as an adult trying to manage it. It’s 1983, and John is a teenager. He’s played by Scott Ellis Watson. They live in Galashiels, Scotland. He’s very into soccer, playing goalie. He’s growing up, body changing and all, when suddenly he begins having what he learns are tics. These tics start off as basic blinking a lot, neck movements in all directions, and shouting. His mother, Heather (Shirley Henderson), and his father don’t treat him very well after the ticks turn into cursing, spitting, and punching. John’s father up and abandons the family.

His life with his family doesn’t go quite as he would have expected. When he’s grown up, he gets into fights because people think that what he says and does is on purpose. They don’t believe it’s something that cannot be helped. A judge, whom John angers by calling him a terrible name, says that what he has is not a recognized condition. He isn’t diagnosed, so it’s irrelevant in his case.

Since the age of 12, it has made John’s life miserable and continues to be now that he’s in his twenties. John is now being played by the actor Robert Aramayo. Both of the people playing him are exceptional. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they both had the disease; they represented those afflicted that well. John is teased when he squints and twitches, stretches and bends his neck from side to side, all happening without control on his part. No one seems to understand, so when he is really frustrated, he slaps himself, even wanting to kill himself sometimes. It’s not fair that he has it and bad people don’t. He ends up seeing an old friend whose mother, Dottie (Maxine Peake), is a nurse in a mental health facility. She notices his case is severe, and the meds aren’t helping him. With bad news about her own health, she decides she’ll spend time trying to help the young man. Her character is magnificent. She notices he’s calmer when he has things to do, so she takes him to apply for a job. He meets with Tommy (Peter Mullan), and they immediately hit it off. Tommy, another exceptional character, gives John a sense of purpose, impacting him psychologically, making him feel worthy of being considered normal for the first time in a long time. Tommy sets him on the path of helping himself by helping others, taking the worst of the disease and teaching teachers, the police, the courts, and others afflicted what it’s all about.

This movie is beautiful. It’s uplifting and powerfully emotional. “I Swear” is told with a humorous tone, particularly in a scene where John meets up with another Tourette’s patient. Through them both, even though funny, you see what type of suffering someone with this disease would go through without having the understanding of the people in their lives. It would be difficult just to function. Do not miss this. See it at the theater today if possible, you deserve a good film, don’t ya? *Stay for a postscript and video showing John when he was younger. My words could never express how good this movie is and why you need to see it TODAY. Just believe me.