I Swear
Review by Mark Woodring
As a quintessentially British film, you’re probably only aware of I Swear due to the uproar during the recent BAFTA awards.
Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.
Sure, lead actor Robert Aramayo won the BAFTA, but what about the film itself?
120 Minutes, Rated R
Written by Kirk Jones
Directed by Kirk Jones
Synopsis:
John Davidson: diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome at a young age which alienated him from his peers, he struggled with a condition few people had witnessed.
This was an interesting film to watch for me. I generally approach biopics with a hefty bit of skepticism about the accuracy of the story they’re telling.
Most biopics tend to overly glorify their subjects, often going so far as to be nearly fiction in the totality of its narrative. I don’t know the complete, true story of John Davidson’s life, but I don’t think that in this case, at least, that matters too much.
What I Swear is trying to do is use Davidson’s life to illustrate a greater truth: the recognition of mental illnesses as something to be understood, not shunned. Granted, some mental illnesses might necessitate the imposition of segregation, but Tourette’s is not one of those.
Is Tourette’s unexpected, unnerving, uncomfortable, embarrassing? Sure, but so are a great many “normal” people I’ve met in my life, so…
Aramayo’s performance as John (but perhaps not OF John, if you get my meaning) is astounding, as he never did seem to be acting as if he had Tourette’s, which is a far cry from acting as someone who might have been through a traumatic experience off-screen. This is ongoing trauma, unforeseen and unstoppable, that affected not only himself, but those around him.
Maxine Peake’s performance as the mother of a friend who “adopts” John and forces him to reconcile with his own condition by forcing the public to reconcile with it is often a bit “Hollywood” in it’s scripting, but it’s a great performance nonetheless.
Likewise for Shirley “Moaning Myrtle” Henderson as John’s actual mother, who tried as best she could to deal with something she didn’t understand which cost her her husband and some sense of standing in the community is actually the better of John’s “moms” in the film, I think. She is haunted (no pun intended) not just by John’s condition, but by her own inability to “fix” her son, who she clearly loves. She’s simply not equipped.
An interesting look at the impact a mental illness can have, not only on a on a normal life, but on the lives around it, I Swear is definitely worth the watch.
The real John Davidson finally found a way to make peace with his condition, using it to shine a brighter light on those who suffer from it, instead of keeping them relegated to the shadowy fringes of society.
I Swear is in theaters now and stars Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, and Shirley Henderson.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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