Fails the Bechdel test

Arbitrage

Name: Arbitrage
Released: 2012

2012. Directed by Nicholas Jarecki, written by Nicholas Jarecki.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
21 women characters. 13 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.

The film

Robert Miller is a successful financial businessman with a loving wife and a smart daughter ready to take over the family business. Professional secrets involving illegal fraudulent activities start coming out at the same time that Robert's personal secrets take a turn for the worse and threaten to derail everything he has achieved.

Released: 14 Sep 2012
Genres: Drama, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.6 / 10
Metascore: 73 / 100
Awards: 4 wins & 6 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Robert 362 lines, man
Jimmy 110 lines, man
Bryer 98 lines, man
Ellen 77 lines, woman
Brooke 63 lines, woman
Syd 28 lines, man
Deferlito 25 lines, man
Mayfield 23 lines, man
Julie 20 lines, woman
Chris 15 lines, man

Full cast, 64 people

Richard Gere as Robert Miller
Susan Sarandon as Ellen Miller
Tim Roth as Det. Michael Bryer
Brit Marling as Brooke Miller
Laetitia Casta as Julie Côte
Nate Parker as Jimmy Grant
Stuart Margolin as Syd Felder
Chris Eigeman as Gavin Briar
Graydon Carter as James Mayfield
Bruce Altman as Chris Vogler
Larry Pine as Jeffrey Greenberg
Curtiss Cook as Det. Mills
Reg E. Cathey as Earl Monroe
Felix Solis as A.D.A. Ray Deferlito
Tibor Feldman as Judge Rittenband
Austin Lysy as Peter Miller
Monica Raymund as Reina - Jimmy's Girlfriend
Gabrielle Lazure as Sandrine Côte
Shawn Elliott as Flores
Sophie Lane Curtis as Ava Stanton
Ted Neustadt as Ben
Maria Bartiromo as Maria Bartiromo
David Faber as CNBC Newscaster
Josh Pais as John Aimes
Paul Fitzgerald as Paul Barnes
Julian Niccolini as Four Seasons Maître d'
Evelina Turen as Julie's Assistant
Alyssa Sutherland as Jeffrey's Receptionist
Paula Devicq as Cindy - Robert's Personal Assistant
Io Bottoms as Mae - Ellen's Assistant
Zack Robidas as Tom - Brooke's Boyfriend
Betsy Aidem as Vogler's Secretary
Sam Kitchin as Brent Owens
Glen Lee as Robert's Houseman
Jennifer Lee Crowl as Receptionist
Quinn Friedman as Grandchild #1
Olivia Salerno as Grandchild #2
Tyler Turen as Grandchild #3
Michael Leif O'Brien as Painter
Angel Picard-Ami as Woman in Gallery
Jamie Johnson as Julie's Suitor
Anthony Auriemma as Extra (uncredited)
Ian Bonner as Grand Jury Member (uncredited)
Roger Brenner as Business Associate (uncredited)
Julie Cavaliere as Four Seasons Patron (uncredited)
Fabrizia Dal Farra as Event Coordinator (uncredited)
James Farley as Gala Guest (uncredited)
Max Gold as Party Guest (uncredited)
Darryl Reuben Hall as Financial Trader (uncredited)
Rachel Heller as Rachel (uncredited)
Tony Hsieh as Executive (uncredited)
Vivian Kalinov as Upscale Woman (uncredited)
Alex Kruz as Four Seasons Wealthy Patron (uncredited)
Andrew Levitas as Self (uncredited)
Marc Lombardo as Plaza Partygoer (uncredited)
Terence McCormack Maitland as Boom Operator (uncredited)
Ann Moller as Party Guest (uncredited)
Nicole Roderick as Friend of Julie Côte (uncredited)
Jenny Rostain as Gala Guest (uncredited)
Lipica Shah as Miller Capital Assistant (uncredited)
Barbara Vincent as Four Seasons Patron (uncredited)
Darly Wanatick as Four Seasons Guest (uncredited)
Paul Weaver as Bar Patron (uncredited)
William Henderson White as Alex Stanton (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 1% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 112

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	2	4
4 to 6	0	13
7 to 9	0	0
10 to 12	18	23
13 to 15	0	1
16 to 18	3	30
19 to 21	14	18
22 to 24	0	9
25 to 27	7	14
28 to 30	8	10
31 to 33	0	0
34 to 36	5	3
37 to 39	10	11
40 to 42	0	0
43 to 45	0	12
46 to 48	0	43
49 to 51	6	7
52 to 54	0	46
55 to 57	5	4
58 to 60	5	68
61 to 63	14	4
64 to 66	0	19
67 to 69	0	8
70 to 72	0	26
73 to 75	0	19
76 to 78	9	44
79 to 81	2	19
82 to 84	2	12
85 to 87	15	25
88 to 90	0	70
91 to 93	28	24
94 to 96	0	47
97 to 99	2	49
100 to 102	0	2
103 to 105	0	36
106 to 108	29	38
109 to 111	0	10
112 to 112	1	0

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.

185 lines from women, 768 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

21 women and 28 men in the cast. 13 women and 19 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 960. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 97 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 (1,892), men 81% (8,089).

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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 32% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Nicholas Jarecki (man)
Written by: Nicholas Jarecki (man)
Produced by: Laura Bickford (woman), Kevin Turen (man), Robert Salerno (man), Justin Nappi (man)
Shot by: Yorick Le Saux (man)
Edited by: Douglas Crise (man)
Music by: Cliff Martinez (man)
Production design by: Beth Mickle (woman)
Costumes by: Joseph G. Aulisi (man)
Cast by: Laura Rosenthal (woman)