Review | I Swear

Colin Revolting reviews I Swear, a film about the life of a Tourette syndrome campaigner who struggles to get to grips with his condition in neoliberalising Britain.

I Swear is a film about an activist with Tourette syndrome called John Davidson. Brilliantly played by Robert Aramayo as an adult and Scott Ellis Watson as a youth, John can’t understand what’s happening when he begins to display tics as a teenager in Galashiels, Scotland. His tics are a mix of involuntary movements and verbal outbursts which are actually relatively rare amongst Tourette’s sufferers.

Tourette Syndrome has become better known and understood in recent decades and a lot of that is down to John and his activism. But when he was growing up in the 1980s and 90s there was little understanding or knowledge of the syndrome. 

His condition (he refuses to call it a disability) consistently causes him problems in all aspects of his life. He experiences prejudice from people around him at school and in the town. But as this film shows it is people in authority whose reactions to him are the most damaging. From his headteacher to police officers to judges, such figures are frequently affronted by John’s involuntary outbursts – like ‘Fuck the police’ – as he finds himself in various situations where his condition sees him speak truth to power. 

John’s headteacher sees his outbursts as disrespectful to his authority and this affects his school opportunities. He is a promising young footballer but his condition ruins his chance to prove himself to the local professional team’s talent scout. The lack of understanding and education of Tourette syndrome also tragically plays a role in breaking up John’s family, which struggles to cope with his condition without adequate support.

For several years, John is heavily medicated and struggles on, but things start to look up when a mental health nurse takes a different view of his condition. Dottie Achenbach (played by Maxine Peake – a brilliant actor and activist herself), who also struggles with a health condition of her own, goes above and beyond for John. Dottie is shown as almost exemplary in her care, empathy and actions. Watching her in the film, I was reminded of the period during the Covid-19 pandemic when for a short time workers doing essential jobs – from cleaners to teachers, health workers to refuse workers – were portrayed in the media as ‘everyday heroes’. And reminded, too, of course, that the praise these heroes received from media and political elites did nothing to change the reality that those heroes were often amongst the lowest paid in society. Another essential worker, community centre caretaker, Tommy Trotter (Peter Mullen), is another figure who plays a pivotal role in John’s life. Trotter gives John a job in the community and spots his potential to convey his understanding of Tourette’s to others. Tellingly, it is only after decades of struggle, hard work and perseverance that the establishment recognises John’s role in increasing the general understanding of Tourette’s.

I can’t credit in this review all the workers who were essential to the production of this film, but I would like to acknowledge here the work of writer/director Kirk Jones, who did an excellent job on both counts. I think the film really helps to show how capitalist society allows people like John to fall through the cracks of the system and into a life of medicated misery. As well as depicting some of the failures of neoliberalism, I would also argue that the film helps to illustrate the concept from the Russian revolution that ‘every cook can govern’. Time and again in the film, we see that ‘ordinary people’ are not just capable, but adept and inclined towards helping each other and understanding people in their varied and complex ways of being. 

Such understanding and kindness will be central to building the society we want to see. I think Che Guevara was correct when he claimed that ‘the true revolutionary is guided by love’, and when he stressed that ‘genuine revolutionary action stems from profound compassion and love for humanity’. This film helped to highlight that, but still it must be emphasised that our task today is to ensure that such feelings of love and compassion are transformed into actual deeds and acts that can change the world.

This is a beautifully tragic, funny and profound film. As you watch it, you may well find yourself crying, laughing and thinking deeply all at the same time.