Fails the Bechdel test
A Simple Plan
1999. Directed by Sam Raimi, written by Scott B. Smith.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
5 women characters. 2 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Hank Mitchell lives in rural Minnesota with his wife Sarah and works at a local mill, maintaining a quiet life alongside his brother Jacob and their friend Lou. During a winter outing, the three men stumble upon a crashed plane hidden in the snow and discover a duffel bag filled with millions in cash. Hank urges caution while Jacob and Lou push for secrecy, and the group agrees to conceal the money until spring. Tension rises immediately as Hank brings Sarah into the secret, and she begins analyzing the risks and hidden consequences of keeping the funds. As paranoia spreads, small mistakes and mistrust begin to fracture the fragile agreement between the men, while the discovery attracts increasing suspicion from the local sheriff and unexpected outside interest that threatens to expose everything.
- Released
- 22 Jan 1999
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 81 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 16 wins & 24 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Hank 224 lines, man
- Jacob 130 lines, man
- Lou 79 lines, man
- Sarah 75 lines, woman
- Carl 37 lines, man
- Bank 25 lines, man
- Fremont 11 lines, man
- Baxter 10 lines, man
- Nancy 10 lines, woman
- Rank 10 lines
Full cast, 32 people
- Billy Bob Thornton as Jacob Mitchell
- Bill Paxton as Hank Mitchell
- Bridget Fonda as Sarah Mitchell
- Brent Briscoe as Lou Chambers
- Jack Walsh as Tom Butler
- Chelcie Ross as Carl Jenkins
- Becky Ann Baker as Nancy Chambers
- Gary Cole as Baxter
- Bob Davis as FBI Agent Renkins
- Peter Syvertsen as FBI Agent Freemont
- Tom Carey as Dwight Stephanson
- John Paxton as Mr. Schmitt
- Marie Mathay as News Reporter
- Paul Magers as Anchorman
- Joan Steffend as Anchorwoman
- Jill Sayre as Hospital Nurse
- Wayne A. Evenson as Bartender
- Tim Storms as Drinker
- Terry Hempleman as Dead Pilot
- Jay Gjernes as Bearded Man
- Grant Curtis as Bar Patron
- Solomon Abrams as Bar Patron
- Nina Kaczorowski as Bar Patron
- Thomas Boedy as Priest
- Mary Woolever as Linda
- Rhiannon R. Sauers as Girl on Sled
- Christopher Gallus as Boy on Sled
- Eric Cegon as Tommy
- Robert Martin Halverson as Detective
- Roger Watton as Barber
- Frank Beard as Funeral Party Member (uncredited)
- Steven Gilmer as Funeral Director (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 99
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 to 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 20 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 6 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 5 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 46 |
| 22 to 24 | 19 | 26 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 11 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 27 |
| 34 to 36 | 9 | 23 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 2 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 26 |
| 46 to 48 | 9 | 30 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 10 |
| 52 to 54 | 12 | 33 |
| 55 to 57 | 2 | 65 |
| 58 to 60 | 4 | 20 |
| 61 to 63 | 2 | 17 |
| 64 to 66 | 1 | 8 |
| 67 to 69 | 3 | 8 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 16 |
| 73 to 75 | 4 | 10 |
| 76 to 78 | 3 | 10 |
| 79 to 81 | 16 | 14 |
| 82 to 84 | 2 | 24 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 0 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 1 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 8 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 4 |
| 97 to 99 | 3 | 54 |
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, 14 are women's.
90 lines from women, 535 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
5 women and 14 men in the cast. 2 women and 8 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 5 of 645.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 93 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 19% of the words (1,725), men 81% (7,175). Women have 14% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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
Two women
0
Two men
47
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Sam Raimi (man)
- Written by
- Scott B. Smith (man)
- From the novel by
- Scott B. Smith (man)
- Produced by
- James Jacks (man), Adam Schroeder (man)
- Shot by
- Alar Kivilo (man)
- Edited by
- Arthur Coburn (man), Eric L. Beason (man)
- Music by
- Danny Elfman (man)
- Production design by
- Patrizia von Brandenstein (woman)
- Costumes by
- Julie Weiss (woman)
- Cast by
- Ilene Starger (woman), Lynn Blumenthal (gender not listed)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
2 women, 6 men, 27 not listed
-
Sound
4 women, 19 men, 11 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 9 men, 16 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 7 men, 10 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 5 men, 15 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 2 men, 12 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 5 men, 11 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 40 on average. Men: 48 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Bridget Fonda 34, Becky Ann Baker 45
Men
Brent Briscoe 37, Gary Cole 42, Billy Bob Thornton 43, Bill Paxton 43, Chelcie Ross 56, Jack Walsh 65
Exhibit G: the money
It made 96% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $17 million
- Box office
- $16.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 99 scenes and 645 lines of dialogue. How the test works
