Passes the Bechdel test

Blonde

Name: Blonde
Released: 2022

2022. Directed by Andrew Dominik, written by Andrew Dominik and Joyce Carol Oates.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
17 women characters. 10 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 5 scenes out of 169.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

The film

From director Andrew Dominik, and based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates, 'Blonde' boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood's most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe. From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, 'Blonde' blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.

Released: 28 Sep 2022
Genres: Biography, Drama, History
Rated: NC-17
IMDb: 5.4 / 10
Metascore: 50 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 13 wins & 36 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Norma Jeane 272 lines, woman
Gladys 55 lines, woman
The Playwright 39 lines, man
Cass 23 lines, man
The President 23 lines, man
Eddy G. 22 lines, man
The Ex-Athlete 21 lines, man
I. E. Shinn 17 lines, man
Miss Flynn 14 lines, woman
Director 10 lines, man

Full cast, 75 people

Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane / Marilyn Monroe
Adrien Brody as The Playwright
Bobby Cannavale as The Ex-Athlete
Sara Paxton as Miss Flynn
Lucy DeVito as Ex-Athlete's Niece
Julianne Nicholson as Gladys
Scoot McNairy as Tommy Ewell / Richard Sherman
Xavier Samuel as Cass Chaplin
Caspar Phillipson as The President
Evan Williams as Eddy G. Robinson Jr.
Rebecca Wisocky as Yvet
Toby Huss as Whitey
Catherine Dent as Jean
Haley Webb as Brooke (Flight Attendant)
Dan Butler as I.E. Shinn
Tygh Runyan as Norma Jeane's Father
David Warshofsky as Mr. Z
Michael Masini as Tony Curtis / Josephine
Chris Lemmon as Jack Lemmon / Daphne
Ned Bellamy as Doc Fell
Sonny Valicenti as Casting Director
Tatum Shank as Dick Tracy
Andrew Thacher as Jiggs
Dominic Leeder as Bugs Bunny
Skip Pipo as Dr. Bender
Ravil Isyanov as Billy Wilder
Tim Ransom as Rudy
Rob Brownstein as Acting Coach
Rob Nagle as Radio Announcer
Ethan Cohn as Assistant to the Director
Mike Ostroski as The Writer
Christopher Kriesa as Joe E. Brown
Eric Matheny as Joseph Cotten
Kiva Jump as Ward Nurse at Norwalk
Patrick Brennan as Joe (Photo Shoot Photographer)
Ryan Vincent as Uncle Clive
Vanessa Lemonides as Marilyn Singing Voice (voice)
Michael Drayer as Deputy Will Bonnie
Claudia Smith as Dee-Dee
Mary-Pat Green as Tracey
Ron West as Dr. Spindel (Abortion Doctor)
Flynn Platt as Actor in Play
Scott Wilder as Chloroform Man #1
Sal Landi as Chloroform Man #2
Seth Meriwether as 5th Helena Messenger
Darrin M. Schlie as Assistant Camera Man
Julián Rebolledo as Trailer Announcer / Newsreel Announcer
Allan Havey as Dr. Greenson
Tereza Rizzardi as Ex-Athlete's Momma
Lily Fisher as Young Norma Jeane
Spencer Taylor as Assistant Director
Denna Thomsen as Choreographer
Parker Harris as Diamonds Dancer
Ryan Kanfer as Diamonds Dancer
Scott Hislop as Diamonds Dancer
Parker Blakely as Diamonds Dancer
Chris Moss as Diamonds Dancer
Cris Cangero as Diamonds Dancer
Brandon Beltran as Diamonds Dancer
Patrick Ellis as Diamonds Dancer
Luke Kamppila as Diamonds Dancer
Richard Biglia as Diamonds Dancer
Arne Gjelten as Diamonds Dancer
Russell Ridgeway as Diamonds Dancer
Jake Brandorff as Diamonds Dancer
Bryan Anthony as Diamonds Dancer
Jeremy Shouldis as Tuxedo #2 (uncredited)
Steve Bannos as Brentwood Doctor (uncredited)
Dieterich Gray as Photographer's Assistant (uncredited)
Mia McGovern Zaini as Young Norma Jeane (voice) (uncredited)
Garret Dillahunt as Producer (uncredited)
Eden Riegel as Esther (uncredited)
Judy Kain as Severe Woman (uncredited)
Eoin Connolly as Photographer (uncredited)
Linda L. Michaels as Screaming Asylum Mental Patient

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 169

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	24	0
5 to 8	9	0
9 to 12	11	0
13 to 16	7	0
17 to 20	10	0
21 to 24	11	0
25 to 28	3	3
29 to 32	5	3
33 to 36	6	19
37 to 40	13	1
41 to 44	8	21
45 to 48	6	8
49 to 52	17	18
53 to 56	13	12
57 to 60	10	0
61 to 64	11	1
65 to 68	4	0
69 to 72	25	11
73 to 76	10	2
77 to 80	5	3
81 to 84	23	2
85 to 88	8	3
89 to 92	7	7
93 to 96	23	22
97 to 100	5	2
101 to 104	1	4
105 to 108	7	5
109 to 112	5	7
113 to 116	4	1
117 to 120	6	3
121 to 124	10	8
125 to 128	10	8
129 to 132	7	12
133 to 136	6	4
137 to 140	6	0
141 to 144	5	6
145 to 148	2	4
149 to 152	12	14
153 to 156	5	7
157 to 160	7	7
161 to 164	2	1
165 to 168	2	0
169 to 169	0	1

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

GLADYS: Mother has a surprise for you. Waiting up ahead. NORMA JEANE: A s-surprise? GLADYS: A birthday surprise. NORMA JEANE: Oh, mother! Where are we going?

GLADYS: Don’t look at me like that! GLADYS: Don’t squint as if I’m going to crash this car in the next instant, you’ll make yourself need glasses and that’s the end for you! Stop squir… NORMA JEANE: Oh, Mother, what if the house burns down? I forgot my Tiger. GLADYS: That Toy! You’d be fortunate if it did burn. It’s a morbid attachment.

MISS FLYNN: Why don’t you leave that Norma Jeane? NORMA JEANE: This is my Tiger. My mother gave to me.

NORMA JEANE: Oh, Mother! GLADYS: Your hair is so white. Are you old like me? NORMA JEANE: Everyone was so worried about you, Mother. You won’t ever run away again, will you? GLADYS: I knew where I was going.

HIS NIECE: Hey Marilyn, what’s it like being a movie star? NORMA JEANE: Oh, I’m not a s-star. I’m j-just some blonde. HIS NIECE: Oh, yeah. So the hair’s real? NORMA JEANE: People make pasta? I mean - not just in a store?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 62 are women's.

371 lines from women, 230 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

17 women and 45 men in the cast. 10 women and 28 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 10 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 64% of the words (4,343), men 36% (2,454). Women have 62% 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

6 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 46% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Andrew Dominik (man)
Written by: Andrew Dominik (man)
From the novel by: Joyce Carol Oates (woman)
Produced by: Tracey Landon (woman), Brad Pitt (man), Scott Robertson (man), Dede Gardner (woman), Jeremy Kleiner (man)
Shot by: Chayse Irvin (man)
Edited by: Adam Robinson (gender not listed)
Music by: Nick Cave (man), Warren Ellis (man)
Production design by: Florencia Martin (woman)
Costumes by: Jennifer Johnson (woman)
Cast by: Laray Mayfield (woman)