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Fails the Bechdel test

A Beautiful Mind

2002. Directed by Ron Howard, written by Akiva Goldsman and Sylvia Nasar.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    15 women characters. 3 of them speak.
  2. No 2. Who talk to each other
    Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
  3. No 3. About something besides a man
    Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

Poster for A Beautiful Mind

The film

Mathematician John Nash rises to prominence at Princeton with his groundbreaking theories in game theory. While achieving academic success, he begins experiencing paranoid delusions and hallucinations, straining his relationships with his wife Alicia and colleagues. Nash struggles with schizophrenia, gradually learning to distinguish reality from illusion while continuing his work. The film explores genius, mental illness, love, and perseverance, showing the challenges of balancing personal struggles with professional achievement.

Released
04 Jan 2002
Genres
Biography, Drama, Mystery
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
8.2 / 10
Metascore
72 / 100
Awards
Won 4 Oscars. 37 wins & 69 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Nash 360 lines, man
  2. Alicia 151 lines, woman
  3. Parcher 92 lines, man
  4. Rosen 63 lines, man
  5. Milnor 57 lines, man
  6. Fox 50 lines
  7. Charles 49 lines, man
  8. Zweifel 34 lines
  9. Van Neumann 27 lines, man
  10. Student 13 lines, man
Full cast, 101 people
  • Russell Crowe as John Nash
  • Jennifer Connelly as Alicia Nash
  • Ed Harris as William Parcher
  • Paul Bettany as Charles Herman
  • Christopher Plummer as Dr. Rosen
  • Adam Goldberg as Richard Sol
  • Josh Lucas as Martin Hansen
  • Anthony Rapp as Bender
  • Jason Gray-Stanford as Ainsley Neilson
  • Judd Hirsch as Helinger
  • Austin Pendleton as Thomas King
  • Vivien Cardone as Marcee
  • Jillie Simon as Bar Co-Ed
  • Victor Steinbach as Professor Horner
  • Tanya Clarke as Becky
  • Thomas F. Walsh as Captain
  • Jesse Doran as General
  • Kent Cassella as Analyst
  • Patrick Blindauer as MIT Student
  • John Blaylock as Photographer
  • Roy Thinnes as Governor
  • Anthony Easton as Young Man
  • Cheryl Howard as Harvard Administrator
  • Rance Howard as White-Haired Patient
  • Jane Jenkins as Code-Red Nurse
  • Darius Stone as Adjunct
  • Josh Pais as Princeton Professor
  • Alex Toma as Toby
  • Valentina Cardinalli as Joyce
  • Teagle F. Bougere as Young Professor
  • David B. Allen as John Nash Jr. (Teenager)
  • Michael Esper as John Nash Jr. (Young Man)
  • Eva Burkley as Girl at Bar
  • Amy Walz as Blond in Bar
  • Tracey Toomey as Brunette
  • Jennifer Weedon as Brunette
  • Yvonne Thomas as Brunette
  • Holly Pitrago as Brunette
  • Isadore Rosenfeld as Pen Ceremony Professor
  • Tommy Allen as Pen Ceremony Professor
  • Dave Bayer as Pen Ceremony Professor
  • Brian Keith Lewis as Pen Ceremony Professor
  • Tom McNutt as Pen Ceremony Professor
  • Will Dunham as Pen Ceremony Professor
  • Glenn Roberts as Pen Ceremony Professor
  • Ed Jupp Jr. as Pen Ceremony Professor
  • Christopher Stockton as Princeton Student
  • Gregory Dress as Princeton Student
  • Carla Occhiogrosso as Princeton Student
  • Matt Samson as Princeton Student
  • Lyena Nomura as Princeton Student
  • Kathleen Fellegara as Insulin Treatment Nurse
  • Betsy Klompus as Insulin Treatment Nurse
  • Stelio Savante as Technician
  • Logan McCall as Technician
  • Bob Broder as Technician
  • Scott Fernstrom as Trent Humphres (uncredited)
  • Ron Howard as Man at Governor's Ball (uncredited)
  • Bryce Dallas Howard as Harvard Student (uncredited)
  • Michael Arthur as Army Captain (uncredited)
  • Brian Smyj as Army Soldier (uncredited)
  • Michael C. Pierce as Radio Operator (uncredited)
  • Alex Lorre as Technician (uncredited)
  • John H. Tobin as Shadow Figure (uncredited)
  • James Whalen as Construction Chief (uncredited)
  • Nick Oddo as Noisy Construction Worker (uncredited)
  • Ty Copeman as Doctor (uncredited)
  • Jonah Falcon as Mental Patient (uncredited)
  • Reggie Austin as Pen Ceremony Professor (uncredited)
  • Robert Myers as Professor (uncredited)
  • Dave Sweeney as Campus Cop (uncredited)
  • Berly Ellis as Princeton Tutor '78 (uncredited)
  • Michael Abbott Jr. as Princeton Library Tutor (uncredited)
  • Liche Ariza as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Peter Bonilla as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Evan Hart as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Jason Horton as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Vivian Kalinov as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Dory Manzour as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Tiffany Marz as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Ryan O'Connor as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Deborah Rayne as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Colby Ryan as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Douglas Taurel as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Jeffrey Christopher Todd as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Ryan Tygh as Princeton Math Grad (uncredited)
  • Erik Van Wyck as Princeton Student (uncredited)
  • Cade Bittner as Harvard Student (uncredited)
  • Fabrizio Fante as Harvard Student (uncredited)
  • Seth Gabel as Harvard Student (uncredited)
  • Monique Marissa Lukens as Harvard Student (uncredited)
  • Phil Cirincione as MIT Student (uncredited)
  • Scott Addison Clay as MIT Student (uncredited)
  • Michael Fiore as MIT Student (uncredited)
  • Reed Penney as MIT Student (uncredited)
  • Sean Bennett as Student (uncredited)
  • Rich Bryant as Student (uncredited)
  • Jersey Carell as Student (uncredited)
  • Gregory Gordon as Student (uncredited)
  • Jarred Treiber as Student (uncredited)
  • Alessandro Tanaka as Student Admirer (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 13% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 182

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 404
5 to 8022
9 to 12034
13 to 16018
17 to 20220
21 to 24035
25 to 28020
29 to 32029
33 to 36019
37 to 40054
41 to 441219
45 to 48188
49 to 5207
53 to 5601
57 to 6069
61 to 6421
65 to 681429
69 to 72010
73 to 7601
77 to 8044
81 to 84220
85 to 88417
89 to 92036
93 to 961925
97 to 10011
101 to 10450
105 to 108025
109 to 112910
113 to 116113
117 to 120818
121 to 12421
125 to 12809
129 to 132220
133 to 13612
137 to 14010
141 to 1441016
145 to 14833
149 to 1521525
153 to 156024
157 to 160214
161 to 164021
165 to 16814
169 to 172027
173 to 17655
177 to 180019
181 to 18228

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 19 are women's.

161 lines from women, 697 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

15 women and 58 men in the cast. 3 women and 12 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 125 of 988. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 195 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 15% of the words (1,815), men 85% (9,935). Women have 19% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit E: behind the camera

2 of the 11 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 25% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Ron Howard (man)
Written by
Akiva Goldsman (man)
Produced by
Brian Grazer (man), Ron Howard (man)
Shot by
Roger Deakins (man)
Edited by
Daniel P. Hanley (man), Mike Hill (man)
Music by
James Horner (man)
Production design by
Wynn Thomas (man)
Cast by
Janet Hirshenson (woman), Jane Jenkins (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Production

    13 women, 10 men, 23 not listed

  • Other crew

    3 women, 21 men, 17 not listed

  • Sound

    6 women, 16 men, 12 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 14 men, 14 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    4 women, 5 men, 11 not listed

  • Art

    1 women, 10 men, 7 not listed

  • Lighting

    0 women, 10 men, 8 not listed

  • Visual Effects

    1 women, 3 men, 10 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 31 on average. Men: 42 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Jennifer Connelly 31

Men

Paul Bettany 30, Josh Lucas 30, Anthony Rapp 30, Adam Goldberg 31, Jason Gray-Stanford 31, Russell Crowe 37, Ed Harris 51, Judd Hirsch 66, Christopher Plummer 72

Exhibit G: the money

It made 5.5 times what it cost.

Budget
$58 million
Box office
$317 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 182 scenes and 988 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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