An absolute gem of a film.  It’s the true story of Scottish man John Davidson who suffers severe Tourette Syndrome which nearly destroys his life.  It’s not the first telling of his story; a documentary was made in 1989 called John’s Not Mad. 

At the age of 12 John is a promising young soccer player and a good student.  He lives with his working class family – mum, dad and two sisters – in Galashiels near Edinburgh.   

His skills as a goalkeeper have made him the pride of the school and a bit of a hero to his family and his mates.  His father and his coach summon a football talent scout to come and watch him at a big game, but on the crucial day he flubs it, grimacing strangely and quite unable to deal with the ball.  The scout walks away in disgust and father, coach and team give him hell.

This is the first of what I suppose is a kind of Tourette seizure, and the start of a lifelong pattern of uncontrollable verbal and physical tics which lead him to shout profanities, to spit out his food and from time to time to lash out and hit people. Needless to say they think he’s doing it deliberately and of course he can’t explain his behaviour.  John suffers agonies of embarrassment and persecution: the headmaster tries to beat the bad behaviour out of him, his mother bans him from the family dinner table, his father can’t cope and eventually abandons the family.  A pack of local toughs beat him half to death when he barks out ‘slut!’ to a young female passerby; he tries to commit suicide.

An old school mate comes back into John’s life.  This fellow’s mother has worked as a mental health nurse and she takes him under her wing, into the bosom of her warm-hearted family.  She finds employment for him with a sympathetic older man who works with disadvantaged people and things start to look up for him.   

I knew the film had a happy ending because it opens with John about to receive a gong from the Queen for his work with fellow Tourette sufferers.  But it’s been a long hard journey, and I was beginning to wonder how much more of the miserable, cruel bits I could stand before the happy ending came into view.

This episode with the Queen is very touching and even funny: John is terrified that he’ll shout an insult to Her Majesty. Does he? You’ll have to see the movie to find out!

This bare recital of the story outline doesn’t begin to capture the intense humanity, pathos, warmth and humour of this telling of John Davidson’s life.  I was brought to tears several times, big sook that I am.

I’m now going to seek out that 1989 documentary.  Reminder: it’s called John’s Not Mad.  

John Davidson and Robert Aramayo, who plays him in I Swear.