I Swear, the Scottish-set drama based on John Davidson’s life, has debuted with a perfect score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Led by Robert Aramayo, the film unites British acting royalty with Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson and Peter Mullan appearing in supporting roles.
Scheduled to land in UK cinemas on 10 October, I Swear delves into the real-life story of Davidson, a teenager living with Tourette syndrome, who, after signing on as the subject of the BBC’s 1989 documentary John’s Not Mad, was able to spread awareness of the condition.
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Ahead of the film’s premiere, Digital Spy’s Movies Editor, Ian Sandwell, said: “In lesser hands, I Swear would have been weighed down by its traditional biopic structure, but powered by a star-making turn for Robert Aramayo and excellent support from Maxine Peake, Peter Mullan and Shirley Henderson, it becomes a funny, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting watch. You won’t fail to be moved.”
A movie which has already won rave reviews, Time Out noted: “Empathetic, funny and myth-busting, it gives you permission to laugh at the situation while feeling only compassion for the man.”
Graeme Hunter//StudioCanal
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Meanwhile, Empire Magazine remarked: “Just lovely. Tourette syndrome has not been afforded its cinematic dues, but what an affable, funny character to explore it with in John Davidson – and what a performance from Robert Aramayo.”
Echoing this sentiment, IndieWire wrote: “Aramayo’s sensitive portrayal of the man and [director Kirk] Jones’ unflinching dedication to showing some of Davidson’s most painful moments, the ones that pushed him into action, add up to an insightful biopic that chronicles a very worthy subject.”
StudioCanal
Revealing how he prepared for the film, Aramayo told Deadline that he spent a lot of time with Davidson. “I went to work with him, went to dinners with him, and I saw him as much as I possibly could, really, which was great,” the actor said.
“He’s just so unbelievably knowledgeable, and he’s able to speak both personally about his experience with Tourette’s, but also intellectually about Tourette’s, but also his life. And he’s just a very articulate man,” continued Aramayo.
Graeme Hunter/Courtesy of TIFF
“One of the things that I thought was really important was his sense of humour, because he’s very funny.”
I Swear will land in UK cinemas on 10 October.
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Megan is a freelance news reporter for Digital Spy.Â