{"id":607888,"date":"2026-04-26T18:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T18:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/607888\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T18:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T18:32:09","slug":"i-swear-tests-our-compassion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/607888\/","title":{"rendered":"“I Swear” tests our compassion"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s remarkably unfortunate that the way most Americans learned about \u201cI Swear,\u201d Kirk Jones\u2019 biographical drama about Tourette syndrome<\/a> advocate John Davidson, was by the exact kind of unintentional public gaffe the film exists to assuage. While Tourette syndrome has many complex symptoms, \u201cI Swear\u201d focuses largely on coprolalia, a symptom affecting approximately 10% of individuals with Tourette\u2019s and manifests in the involuntary use of obscene language. Throughout the film, Davidson (played with exceptional depth by Robert Aramayo) wrestles with the public\u2019s misunderstanding of his condition, enduring the voluntary violence doled out as a result of his involuntary tics. Though the film can be both overly didactic and schmaltzy, it earnestly attempts to dredge up compassion in the viewer, helping them to understand the nuances of Tourette syndrome as a way of championing both accessibility and acceptance.<\/p>\n

But earlier this year, Davidson inadvertently found himself and his condition at the center of a media firestorm. While Delroy Lindo<\/a> and Michael B. Jordan<\/a> presented an award during February\u2019s BAFTA<\/a> ceremony, Davidson shouted the N-word, which was picked up by the microphones placed throughout the auditorium. According to reports<\/a>, Warner Bros. \u2014 which distributed Jordan and Lindo\u2019s smash hit, \u201cSinners<\/a>\u201d \u2014 and BAFTA called<\/a> for the racial slur to be scrubbed from the broadcast, which aired pre-recorded on a two-hour delay. Still, the ceremony aired without the slur being censored, allowing viewers not only to hear the word but also to witness Jordan and Lindo\u2019s visibly wearied frustration.<\/p>\n

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(Graeme Hunter\/Sony Pictures Classics) Robert Aramayo as John Davidson in \u201cI Swear\u201d<\/p>\n

By simply telling us that compassion is possible without depicting the subtleties of human growth, \u201cI Swear\u201d functions more like an educational drama than a portrait of how to make real-life change.<\/p>\n

In the hours, days and weeks that followed, reactions flew across the digital battlefield, aiming so fiercely for one side or the other that few could examine the nuance in the middle without being caught in the crossfire. Those hurt by hearing the word and seeing the clip proliferated online by racist trolls were broadly labeled as ableists for trying to express how, regardless of intent, the word can still cause an instinctual, sharp pain and embolden further use when broadcast to millions. Others were quick to jump in and defend Davidson from actual ableism \u2014 statements that Davidson should\u2019ve never been allowed at the show, or in public \u2014 without fully acknowledging that the incident hurt others, too.<\/p>\n

As my colleague Melanie McFarland pointed out in March, it was the BBC \u2014 a network notorious for its carelessness when it comes to anti-Black racism \u2014 that was most culpable in this situation. Davidson told<\/a> Variety that he shouted other obscene language during the show that was all censored, and that he felt a \u201cwave of shame\u201d after the incident, removing himself from the ceremony. But it\u2019s the BBC\u2019s negligence that highlights both the importance of \u201cI Swear\u201d and its innate shortcomings. Jones\u2019 film is a palatable, pleasing story of tenacity in the face of marginalization. It\u2019s also a film caught up in idealism, presenting a this-or-that way to approach situations like the one Davidson found himself embroiled in earlier this year. By simply telling us that compassion is possible without depicting the subtleties of human growth, \u201cI Swear\u201d functions more like an educational drama than a portrait of how to make real-life change.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not a bad thing, at least not necessarily. There are so few depictions of Tourette syndrome in the media as it is, and even fewer that accurately render the potentially debilitating complications of coprolalia. Growing up with a sibling who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and witnessing the dissonance between her condition and the unrealistic portrayals in the media \u2014 or worse, the claims of being \u201csoooo OCD\u201d for something like carrying hand sanitizer \u2014 drilled into my head from a young age that education about these types of disorders is crucial. There is so much that the public doesn\u2019t know, and even more that can be contorted by disinformation and colloquial slang, making these important subjects the butt of the joke. When Davidson was first introduced to U.K. audiences in the 1988 TV documentary, \u201cJohn\u2019s Not Mad,\u201d the film was as much of an inspiration story as it was a cause<\/a> for mass mockery. Despite the filmmakers\u2019 earnest intentions, the nature of Davidson\u2019s condition, combined with the fact that he was only 15 at the time and Tourette\u2019s was so unexplored in the media, meant that Davidson was an easy target.<\/p>\n

In many ways, a narrative film like \u201cI Swear\u201d bridges the gap between a viewer\u2019s head and their heart more easily than a 30-minute television documentary. By identifying a start and tentative end point in Davidson\u2019s story, along with a specific series of true events to pass through on the way to the finish line, Jones constructs his film around the most critical aspects of Davidson\u2019s life \u2014 the ones audiences need to see. There are triumphant highs and rock-bottom lows. Less frequent are the moments in the middle; good days with little commotion, ones that warrant personal reflection but don\u2019t have the same emotional resonance in a relatively standard biopic like this one. To keep the audience\u2019s interest and to plainly communicate the unique difficulties of living with Tourette syndrome, \u201cI Swear\u201d is all but forced to make every scene eventful. Maximize the heartening and heartrending, and you\u2019ll stand to maximize the viewer\u2019s compassion, too.<\/p>\n

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Some might find that manipulative, but in the case of \u201cI Swear,\u201d any minor bit of cinematic sap is warranted. This is a film that serves a purpose, and Jones\u2019 amiable writing and Aramayo\u2019s engaging performance dredge up just enough sentimentality while keeping the movie from seeming overly instructive. That does not mean, though, that one won\u2019t come away from \u201cI Swear\u201d with the distinct impression that they\u2019ve been watching an educational film meant for high school classrooms, instead of a film that can stand on its own among its peers at the multiplex. Such is the nature of a movie like this, but every viewer\u2019s mileage with the pedagogical writing will vary.<\/p>\n

The film charts a course through Davidson\u2019s life from the start of his tics as a teenager up until he was presented an award by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019, another venue where he swore. Naturally, this is the film\u2019s opening scene, intended to communicate that managing Tourette\u2019s is a lifelong endeavor, but that even the stuffiest, most proper royal figurehead can meet the condition with patience and understanding.<\/p>\n

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(Graeme Hunter\/Sony Pictures Classics) Robert Aramayo as John Davidson and Maxine Peake as Dottie Achenbach in \u201cI Swear\u201d<\/p>\n

When John\u2019s not met with immediate violence, we celebrate. When he is, we shudder and wonder how the world could be so cruel. But there\u2019s little interiority between these two reactions, no sense of what John himself is thinking at any moment.<\/p>\n

As he moves through Davidson\u2019s life, Jones gradually heightens Davidson\u2019s visible exhaustion, trying to manage a condition that no one in his orbit understands. His mother forces him to eat dinner away from the family table to avoid his tics, and his father becomes so disgruntled that he leaves their home and never returns. When a tic causes him to get in a fight with a fellow student, the school headmaster wraps young John (Scott Ellis Watson) on the hand, warning him, \u201cThe real world outside this school will not be as sympathetic as we have.\u201d It\u2019s on the nose, sure, but it\u2019s a fitting way to telegraph that Davidson was born into a world where accessibility isn\u2019t treated as a priority, thrust into a life built on a series of apologies.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a limit to how many similar instances, all with the same structure, the film can retrace before it gives way to monotony. Almost every scene finds John in an environment where his tics have the potential to offend someone, and the movie\u2019s narrative stakes hinge on the viewer anticipating something bad might happen to him because of those tics. When John\u2019s not met with immediate violence, we celebrate. When he is, we shudder and wonder how the world could be so cruel. But there\u2019s little interiority between these two reactions, no sense of what John himself is thinking at any moment. The audience will root for him, yes, but they won\u2019t have any understanding of who Davidson is as a person. Ironically, the film devotes so much attention to the world\u2019s reaction to Davidson\u2019s coprolalia that there\u2019s scant space left over to examine its actual subject beyond correcting the ways the world sees him.<\/p>\n

Everyone John meets in \u201cI Swear\u201d is either aghast by his tics or accepts them without struggle. There\u2019s no depiction of someone\u2019s initial surprise or unease \u2014 at least more than a raised eyebrow \u2014 that gives way to understanding with a bit more time or knowledge. Despite how much the film\u2019s script emphasizes the importance of education, the narrative itself portrays only a right way and wrong way to react.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not unreasonable to think that some viewers may see that binary depiction and use it as an incentive to villainize others in sensitive situations like the one that occurred at the BAFTAs, even if their intentions are good. Like the BAFTAs incident, \u201cI Swear\u201d misses the chance to focus on the middle ground between one side\u2019s righteous finger-wagging and the other\u2019s initial, warranted hurt from hearing a slur that the BBC should\u2019ve taken care to excise \u2014 the place where education actually happens.<\/p>\n

In that way, \u201cI Swear\u201d is more of a graceful introduction to the complicated realities of living with Tourette\u2019s than a practical guide on how to best educate others in a world unfit to meet the needs of someone with the condition. The film outright states its thesis in the final act, when John admits, \u201cI don\u2019t think Tourette\u2019s is the problem. I think the problem is we don\u2019t know enough about Tourette\u2019s.\u201d Unambiguous, but true. The BAFTAs were only a reminder of how far society has yet to go, and how much work has to be done in combating both ableism and racism in a culture that will jump to both at any chance they get. \u201cI Swear\u201d is a didactic starting point, and it may even inspire overcorrection when it comes to educating others, but its heart is in the right place. These days, that\u2019s got to count for something.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/p>\n

about biopics good, bad and in-between<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s remarkably unfortunate that the way most Americans learned about \u201cI Swear,\u201d Kirk Jones\u2019 biographical drama about Tourette…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[88,206],"class_list":{"0":"post-607888","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}