The film ‘I Swear’ was directed, written, and produced by Kirk Jones and follows the life of John Davison (Robert Aramayo) as he develops Tourette’s Syndrome at the age of 14. Jones takes the audience on an emotional journey through the story of a man living with Tourette’s Syndrome.
The film begins with John, better known as Johnny, before he develops Tourette’s. He works at the local corner shop, is a promising young goalkeeper, and is well-liked among his peers. When the tics start to appear, Johnny’s life quickly begins to fall apart.
The social impact of Tourette’s
Though the tics are no fault of his own and are uncontrollable, this doesn’t stop young Johnny (Scott Ellis Watson) from getting into trouble at school and home alike. The tics cause him to swear, blurt out obscene language, and spit food out at a random impulse.
At the dinner table, Johnny’s mother, Heather (Shirley Henderson), already under the pressure of being a working mother, forces Johnny to eat at the fireplace instead of the dinner table. Johnny’s father (Steven Cree), who at first was proud of Johnny, becomes frustrated and abandons the family, leaving John to feel as if his tics are the cause.
Awareness
13 years later, Johnny is still living with his mother and is on medication. On a trip to the market, Johnny runs into an old friend, Murray (Francesco Piacentini-Smith), who is back home from Australia due to his mother, Dottie (Maxine Peake), being diagnosed with cancer.
Murray invites Johnny over for dinner, which he reluctantly attends. Dottie is a mental health nurse, and seeing that Johnny is not doing so well, decides that he should come and live with the family. Sternly, she tells Johnny that he doesn’t need to apologise for something he can’t control.
From there, it feels as if Johnny’s life has actually begun. We see him going clubbing for the first time, but for each happy moment in the story, it’s undercut by the brutal reality that living with Tourette’s syndrome is a world where there is no awareness.
Life journey and friendship
Later, we see Johnny go through all the steps of life. Dottie arranges a job interview for him as an assistant caretaker at the community centre. There, he meets Tommy (Peter Mullan), the head caretaker of the centre, who becomes a mentor and friend to Johnny. Tommy, like Dottie, understands Johnny’s issues and doesn’t judge him for his condition.
Mullan does incredible comedic work within this film despite his limited presence on screen. It gives much-needed respite from the more intense and dramatic moments in the narrative.
At times, Johnny is unfairly arrested by the police and manipulated because of taboos surrounding disability.
Years pass, and Johnny is much older. At work, he is approached by two parents of a 24-year-old woman with Tourette’s Syndrome named Lucy (Andrea Bisset). He speaks with her at the request of her parents, and this sparks Johnny’s advocacy for organising events for people with Tourette’s Syndrome.
The narrative skates over this moment, though, leaving his advocacy work in the last 20 – 30 minutes of the film.
Message and audience
Overall, the film is well-meaning in addressing the topic of Tourette’s, but like many biopics, it attempts to cover too much by trying to fit over 40 years of life into a two-hour film. The performances are superb throughout, and the scenery was truly stunning, but the minimalist camera work hindered the story more than it helped.
The director’s main message with this film is to increase awareness and understanding of Tourette’s Syndrome. I feel that ‘I Swear’ is best aimed at those who know little to nothing about Tourette’s, and want to learn more about the condition, and its impact on those with it.
