In June 2015, director Jim Loach started pre-production for the film with screenwriter David Scearce, who wrote the screenplay, based on the 1977 novel One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte.

[8] Michael O'Sullivan from The Washington Post gave the film a 3.5 out of 4 stars and said, "Measure of a Man is a funny, wise movie about bullying that speaks to kids and grown-ups alike".

[9] Richard Roeper at The Chicago Sun-Times gave it a 3.5 out of 4 stars and said, "It's a sweet and knowing and lovely and funny story, but occasionally the spell of warm nostalgia is broken by painful moments of family heartbreak and cruel bullying".

[11] By contrast, Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Chronicle gave a critical review, describing it as a film of "gestures and feints, in which we’re constantly being told of events and relationships rather than seeing or feeling them.

"[12] Dennis Harvey in Variety criticized it for bringing "no distinctive personality or plot angles to a very familiar set of misfit-hero woes and eventual, underwhelming triumphs," and further commented that the film's "conflicts come to no interesting fruition.