Passes the Bechdel test

Belfast

Name: Belfast
Released: 2021

2021. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, written by Kenneth Branagh.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
11 women characters. 9 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 154.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

The film

Belfast, 15 August 1969. Surrounded by sporadic violence and growing danger, 9-year-old Buddy finds himself confronted with the ugly reality of sectarian conflict. And as the suffocating stranglehold of increasing turmoil tightens around his once-peaceful working-class neighbourhood, Buddy tries his best to understand The Troubles. After all, someone must be responsible for forcing people to flee their homes. Now, Buddy's family must come face to face with a nearly impossible, life-altering decision: should they stay or should they start packing?

Released: 12 Nov 2021
Genres: Biography, Drama
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.2 / 10
Metascore: 75 / 100
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. 63 wins & 259 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Buddy 151 lines, man
Pa 114 lines, man
Ma 102 lines, woman
Moira 57 lines, woman
Pop 54 lines, man
Granny 42 lines, woman
Billy Clanton 28 lines, man
Will 20 lines, man
Frankie West 17 lines, man
Mackie 12 lines, man

Full cast, 46 people

Jude Hill as Buddy
Jamie Dornan as Pa
Caitríona Balfe as Ma
Lewis McAskie as Will
Judi Dench as Granny
Ciarán Hinds as Pop
Lara McDonnell as Moira
Colin Morgan as Billy Clanton
Gerard Horan as Mackie
Josie Walker as Auntie Violet
Olive Tennant as Catherine
Michael Maloney as Frankie West
Turlough Convery as Minister
Conor MacNeill as McLaury
Chris McCurry as Mr Stewart
Elly Condron as Mrs Kavanagh
Samuel Menhinick as Paddy Kavanagh
Vanessa Ifediora as Miss Lewis
Gerard McCarthy as Bobby Frank
Sid Sagar as Mr Singh
Mark Hadfield as George Malpass as Scrooge
John Sessions as Joseph Tomelty as Marley
Mairéad Tyers as Auntie Eileen
Drew Dillon as Mr Kavanagh
Leonard Buckley as Mickey Clanton
Kit Rakusen as Billy Clanton Jr
Freya Yates as Cousin Frances
Nessa Eriksson as Cousin Vanessa
Charlie Barnard as Cousin Charlie
Frankie Hastings as Auntie Mary
Caolan McCarthy as Uncle Sammie
Ian Dunnett Jnr as Uncle Tony
Oliver Savell as Ronnie Boyd
Orla McDonagh as Karen Lambert
Ross O'Donnellan as Walter (Policeman)
Olivia Flanagan as Mary Kavanagh
Serrana Su-Ling Bliss as Sharon Nicholas
Rachel Feeney as Mrs Ford
Estelle Cousins as Darlene Clanton
Scott Gutteridge as Fancy Clanton
Bill Branagh as Young Bill
Joyce Branagh as Supermarket Manager
James O'Donnell as Rioter
Victor Alli as Soldier
Matthew Blaney as Rent Man
Scarlett Nunes as Moira's Friend

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 154

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 4	5	1
5 to 8	10	15
9 to 12	0	1
13 to 16	2	3
17 to 20	1	0
21 to 24	3	5
25 to 28	22	35
29 to 32	0	7
33 to 36	1	11
37 to 40	17	17
41 to 44	2	20
45 to 48	7	13
49 to 52	2	0
53 to 56	9	15
57 to 60	0	22
61 to 64	13	25
65 to 68	2	1
69 to 72	0	11
73 to 76	4	7
77 to 80	7	13
81 to 84	11	9
85 to 88	22	34
89 to 92	1	16
93 to 96	7	5
97 to 100	3	22
101 to 104	26	30
105 to 108	12	19
109 to 112	11	25
113 to 116	11	16
117 to 120	0	1
121 to 124	0	6
125 to 128	4	5
129 to 132	9	9
133 to 136	1	11
137 to 140	1	5
141 to 144	0	3
145 to 148	4	9
149 to 152	0	0
153 to 154	5	10

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.

CATHERINE: Have you gone to the moon yet? CATHERINE: D’ya want to, with me? CATHERINE: It’ll save you gettin cold waitin’ outside our house. MOIRA: Hey Romeo!

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 34 are women's.

235 lines from women, 457 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

11 women and 21 men in the cast. 9 women and 17 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 30 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 35% of the words (2,780), men 65% (5,159). Women have 34% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

7 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 51% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh (man)
Written by: Kenneth Branagh (man)
Produced by: Becca Kovacik (woman), Laura Berwick (woman), Tamar Thomas (woman), Kenneth Branagh (man)
Shot by: Haris Zambarloukos (man)
Edited by: Úna Ní Dhonghaíle (woman)
Music by: Van Morrison (man)
Production design by: Jim Clay (man)
Costumes by: Charlotte Walter (woman)
Cast by: Emily Brockmann (woman), Lucy Bevan (woman)