‘I Swear’ Film Review I Liselotte goes to Hollywood

Film: I Swear. Year: 2025. Genre: Dark Comedy/Docudrama/Tragedy/Biography/Drama/History. Writer/Director:
Kirk Jones

Being a teenager is already hard enough. You want to fit in and have many friends while also dealing with raging hormones and the pressure from parents. It becomes even rougher when you’re living with an unknown neurological disorder. That’s sadly the reality John Davidson had to face as a teenage boy with Tourette’s.

Thanks to modern science, we now have a deep understanding of Tourette’s Syndrome; however, decades ago, especially in a small Scottish town, that wasn’t the case. In the traditional social-realist style and with a solid score and a highly detailed production design, writer/director Kirk Jones takes you in his latest feature, I Swear, instantly to 1980s Scotland and to the Davidson family in particular. John (Scott Ellis Watson), one of four siblings, is a happy-go-lucky kid when he notices something’s wrong.

He experiences uncontrolled neck twitches, which impact his school work and potential professional football career, and the involuntary shouting of profanities. It’s hard to believe that this is Watson’s filmic debut, as…