This is probably not the way the good folks at Sony Pictures Classics hoped to introduce their upcoming biopic, “I Swear,” to domestic audiences, but perhaps Kirk Jones‘ feature about Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson will be good enough to stand on its own merits.
Writing as someone who saw and reviewed the film at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, I hope it does. For now, at least, the film has proven to be a favorite in its native United Kingdom, chronicling a story many across the pond have long watched, thanks to a series of films and specials all about the real Davidson, here played by breakout star Robert Aramayo.
The film was a smash hit when it was released in the UK last year, hitting number one at the box office during its theatrical release and ultimately ranking among the top 10 British films in the UK for all of 2025.
Last month during a particularly upsetting and instantly infamous ceremony, “I Swear” won three BAFTA Film Awards, including Best Actor and the EE Rising Star Award for Aramayo, plus Best Casting for Lauren Evans (the film also stars Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake, and Shirley Henderson). The film was also nominated for Best Outstanding British Film, Best Supporting Actor for Mullan, and Best Original Screenplay.
Per the film’s official logline, SPC bills it as having an “emotionally engaging, funny, and compelling script [that] charts John Davidson’s Tourette’s diagnosis at the age of 15 years old. Set within 1980s Britain, the story follows him throughout his troubled teens and early adulthood, and explores this little known and entirely misunderstood condition, along with his attempts to live a ‘normal’ life against the odds.”
At TIFF, I hailed Aramayo’s performance in particular, writing that the actor “is excellent in the role, easily transversing between John’s pain and confusion and a wincing humor about the whole situation,” noting that his “sensitive portrayal of the man and 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.”
Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in theaters on Friday, April 24. Check out the film’s U.S. first trailer below.
