Adapted from Words Like That S2 Ep. 2, originally released in audio-only format April 29, 2024.
The Professor and the Mad Man, starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn, is a historical drama/biopic about the 19th-century Scottish linguist who headed the Oxford dictionary project—and the insane American ex-cavalry physician that helped him do it.
The film flew completely under most people’s radar, including mine, when it was released in 2019, was promptly excoriated by critics (39% Tomato Score), and made virtually nothing at the box office.
But since this is the only genre of film that my wife and I both enjoy and it was free on Tubi, we decided to give it a go, and frankly—it was one of the best films I’ve seen in the last five years.
The acting is superb. The directing and cinematography are excellent. It’s a story of faith, forgiveness, friendship, love, redemption—gritty yet ultimately uplifting. The period setting is atmospheric and made even more engaging by the based-on-a-true-story plot. The third act runs slightly astray—out of focus and less believable than its taught and realistic predecessors. Still, there isn’t anything in the film that should earn the vitriol of the critical world, certainly not from Mel Gibson himself.
That’s right. I researched the film after I watched, and apparently, the studio, Volt Pictures, would not give co-writer/director Farhad Safinia final cut, prompting Gibson’s production company, Icon Pictures, to file multiple lawsuits against the studio. The suits were settled out of court, resulting in Gibson and Safinia disavowing the film, with Safinia credited pseudonymously as “P. B. Sherman.”
I’m not the only who found the film moving, however. The movie currently sits with a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 80% and an IMDb rating of 7.2/10. So, the people who have seen this film give it overwhelmingly positive marks. The problem is few people seem to have seen it.

If you like Mel Gibson, Sean Penn, gritty period pieces, and stories with virtuous themes that aren’t handled with a lead touch, go check out The Professor and the Mad Man.
Rating: 9/10
Cole Powell is an arts and media commentator and award-winning singer/songwriter from Jayess, Mississippi, USA. Powell holds degrees in computer technology and liberal arts and sciences and wants to be a comic book artist when he grows up and learns to draw.