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Passes the Bechdel test

A Most Violent Year

2015. Directed by J.C. Chandor, written by J.C. Chandor.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    13 women characters. 9 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 1 scene out of 130.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

Poster for A Most Violent Year

The film

A crime drama set in New York City during the winter of 1981--statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history--and centered on the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.

Released
30 Jan 2015
Genres
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rated
R
IMDb
6.9 / 10
Metascore
79 / 100
Awards
15 wins & 52 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Abel 463 lines, man
  2. Anna 165 lines, woman
  3. Andrew Walsh 126 lines, man
  4. Julian 43 lines, man
  5. Peter Forente 37 lines, man
  6. Bill O'Leary 36 lines, man
  7. Arnold Kline 22 lines, man
  8. Arthur Lewis 21 lines, man
  9. Joseph 19 lines, man
  10. Luisa 14 lines, woman
Full cast, 47 people
  • Oscar Isaac as Abel Morales
  • Jessica Chastain as Anna Morales
  • David Oyelowo as D.A. Lawrence
  • Alessandro Nivola as Peter Forente
  • Elyes Gabel as Julian
  • Albert Brooks as Andrew Walsh
  • Catalina Sandino Moreno as Luisa
  • Peter Gerety as Bill O'Leary
  • Christopher Abbott as Louis Servidio
  • Glenn Fleshler as Arnold Kline
  • David Margulies as Saul Lefkowitz
  • Jerry Adler as Joseph Mendelsohn
  • Ben Rosenfield as Sales Student Alex
  • John Procaccino as Arthur Lewis
  • Ashley Williams as Deputy Lange
  • Pico Alexander as Elias Morales
  • Matthew Maher as John Dominczyk
  • Elizabeth Marvel as Mrs. Rose
  • Jason Ralph as Ian Thompson
  • Daisy Tahan as Annie Morales
  • Giselle Eisenberg as Catherine Morales
  • Taylor Richardson as Elizabeth Morales
  • Lorna Guity Pruce as Toll Booth Attendant
  • Quinn Meyers as Moishe Mendelsohn
  • Chester Jones III as Beat Cop
  • Jimmy Palumbo as Barber Jimmy O.
  • Tanner as Muffin
  • Phillip Chi as Burglar
  • Patrick Breen as Instructor
  • Nick Bailey as Sales Recruit #2
  • Jenilyn Rodriguez as Sales Recruit #3
  • Linda Marie Larson as Abel's Secretary Debbie
  • Stephen Reich as Waiter
  • Myrna Cabello as Nanny Maria
  • Nat DeWolf as Officer
  • Robert Clohessy as Mr. Rose
  • Russell G. Jones as Cop #1
  • Annie Funke as Lorraine Lefkowitz
  • Kathleen Doyle as Lefkowitz Receptionist
  • William Hill as Eddy Driver
  • Suzanne Cerreta as Dispatcher Kathy
  • Chris Cardona as Driver 1
  • John Dinello as Driver 2
  • Teddy Coluca as Driver 3
  • Susan Blackwell as Female Radio Reporter
  • John Douglas Thompson as Male Radio Reporter
  • Bill Walters as Subway Rider (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 130

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 300
4 to 601
7 to 949
10 to 12027
13 to 15019
16 to 1844
19 to 211232
22 to 24123
25 to 27510
28 to 30010
31 to 33020
34 to 361352
37 to 3911
40 to 4202
43 to 4521
46 to 48323
49 to 512446
52 to 54023
55 to 57224
58 to 60559
61 to 6377
64 to 662217
67 to 6944
70 to 7210
73 to 7543
76 to 78013
79 to 8104
82 to 8406
85 to 87011
88 to 90032
91 to 93033
94 to 961311
97 to 991112
100 to 102036
103 to 105217
106 to 1081235
109 to 111617
112 to 11412
115 to 1171117
118 to 120058
121 to 1232546
124 to 12623
127 to 129330
130 to 130021

The evidence

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

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
ANNA: Catherine... Catherine. Katie! CATHERINE: Mommy. ANNA: Where did you get this? Catherine where did you find this? CATHERINE: Right here.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 20 are women's.

200 lines from women, 821 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

13 women and 27 men in the cast. 9 women and 16 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 4 of 1,037. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 104 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

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

Words spoken

Women speak 16% of the words (1,581), men 84% (8,169). Women have 20% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: 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 F: behind the camera

3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
J.C. Chandor (man)
Written by
J.C. Chandor (man)
Produced by
Neal Dodson (man), Anna Gerb (woman), J.C. Chandor (man)
Shot by
Bradford Young (man)
Edited by
Ron Patane (man)
Music by
Alex Ebert (man)
Production design by
John P. Goldsmith (man)
Costumes by
Kasia Walicka Maimone (woman)
Cast by
Bernard Telsey (man), Tiffany Little Canfield (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    3 women, 19 men, 5 not listed

  • Sound

    5 women, 14 men, 2 not listed

  • Production

    3 women, 9 men, 1 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    4 women, 1 men, 6 not listed

  • Art

    2 women, 4 men, 4 not listed

  • Visual Effects

    1 women, 4 men, 5 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 5 men, 1 not listed

  • Directing

    2 women, 1 men, 2 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 35 on average. Men: 45 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Catalina Sandino Moreno 33, Jessica Chastain 37

Men

Christopher Abbott 28, Elyes Gabel 31, Oscar Isaac 35, David Oyelowo 38, Alessandro Nivola 42, Glenn Fleshler 46, Albert Brooks 67, Peter Gerety 74

Exhibit H: the money

It made 60% of what it cost.

Budget
$20 million
Box office
$12 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 130 scenes and 1,037 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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