I Swear | Film Review

 

This film follows the life of John Davidson (Robert Aramayo), a man who grew up with Tourette's syndrome in 1980s Scotland.

I saw the trailer for this film at some point last year, and that in itself looked so powerful that I couldn't wait to finally see the full product.

So it's no surprise that I loved the film.

One of the best things about the film is the performances. Aramayo was brilliant in the role, but Scott Ellis Watson, who plays a younger Davidson, was equally fantastic and deserves just as much praise.

The story is really powerful, as shown in the trailer, particularly because this isn't a story that we hear often, if at all, so everything we learn is really impactful.

It doesn't gloss over everything or make light of the hardships Davidson goes through. And while doing that, it's also really informative about the condition.

Part of this is due to how well written is it. The characters feel so real and authentic, and there's never a moment when you don't believe what they're saying.

I particularly loved the depiction of found family, and the way that Davidson was able to develop as a person due to the people around him. The characters are great, and even the ones who are shown to be 'worse' than others are three dimensional. No one is painted as an out-and-out villain.

The film straddles the line between creating a character we feel sorry for vs creating one we sympathise with. We feel sorry without feeling pity, and we feel the right amount of sympathy to really make us care from the minute the film starts until after the credits roll.

From a complete outsider perspective, it feels like the depiction of the condition is both created and acted really well, and that's probably the most important part of the film.

Overall, this is definitely one to watch. It's powerful, beautiful and a message that it would benefit everyone to hear, and I'm really glad it's getting some BAFTA love.

8/10