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Passes the Bechdel test

Bones and All

2022. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, written by David Kajganich and Camille DeAngelis.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    12 women characters. 11 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 8 scenes out of 152.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

Poster for Bones and All

The film

Virginia, 1988. Having no recollection of her mother, high school outcast Maren plucks up the courage to embark on a long, challenging journey to find her. Instead, as Maren struggles to understand, facing her well-hidden adolescent longings on the fringes of Ronald Reagan-era America, a chance encounter with enigmatic pariah and handsome soulmate Lee gives voice to the unspoken expectations of first love. Now, uneasy feelings and all-consuming impulses take over, and the raw, visceral need for companionship and connection in an indifferent society brings to light the wild side of humankind. More than anything, Maren wants to come to terms with her past to find her place in the world. But what's it like to give in to love, bones and all?

Released
23 Nov 2022
Genres
Drama, Horror, Romance
Rated
R
IMDb
6.8 / 10
Metascore
74 / 100
Awards
4 wins & 75 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Maren 325 lines, woman
  2. Lee 233 lines, man
  3. Sully 82 lines, man
  4. Kayla 30 lines, woman
  5. Maren’S Father 29 lines, man
  6. Barbara Kerns 19 lines, woman
  7. Jake 19 lines, man
  8. Booth Man 16 lines, man
  9. Brad 15 lines, man
  10. Harmony 15 lines, woman
Full cast, 30 people
  • Taylor Russell as Maren
  • Timothée Chalamet as Lee
  • Mark Rylance as Sully
  • Anna Cobb as Kayla
  • André Holland as Maren's Father
  • David Gordon Green as Brad
  • Michael Stuhlbarg as Jake
  • Jessica Harper as Barbara Kerns
  • Chloë Sevigny as Janelle
  • Kendle Coffey as Sherry
  • Ellie Parker as Jackie
  • Madeleine Hall as Kim
  • Christine Dye as Attendant (Corlis, MD)
  • Sean Bridgers as Barry Cook
  • Jake Horowitz as Booth Man
  • Marshall Jackson as Boy Playing Ball Toss
  • Marcia Dangerfield as Clerk (MN Gas Station)
  • Burgess Byrd as Gail the Nurse
  • Max Soliz as Mechanic (NE Gas Station)
  • Johanna McGinley as Woman (uncredited)
  • Hannah Barlow as Ticket Holder (uncredited)
  • Claudio Encarnacion Montero as Dwan (uncredited)
  • Sue Hopkins as Homeless Junkie (uncredited)
  • Aaron J. Gould as Bike Boy Harold (uncredited)
  • Brady Gentry as Andy (uncredited)
  • Dori Lucas as Passenger (uncredited)
  • Tom O'Brien as Mr. Harmon (uncredited)
  • John E. Brownlee as Gas Station Customer (uncredited)
  • Jenny McManus as Bus Passenger (uncredited)
  • Kyle Lauderman as Farm Mart Customer (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 152

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 4120
5 to 834
9 to 12270
13 to 1602
17 to 2079
21 to 2401
25 to 2803
29 to 32115
33 to 361512
37 to 401722
41 to 441114
45 to 4844
49 to 522026
53 to 5624
57 to 6035
61 to 641816
65 to 68711
69 to 721519
73 to 761317
77 to 801027
81 to 841235
85 to 8820
89 to 92331
93 to 9634
97 to 1001214
101 to 104275
105 to 108181
109 to 1124113
113 to 11612
117 to 1202120
121 to 12402
125 to 1283816
129 to 1321824
133 to 136222
137 to 14043
141 to 14457
145 to 1481416
149 to 152911

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.
MAREN: Hi. I need to get here. What’s the closest I can get by bus? ATTENDANT: It looks like Detroit Lakes. You’ll have to change buses a few times. We’ve only got three stations in Minnesota. From Detroit Lakes you can… MAREN: How much is it to Detroit Lakes? ATTENDANT: One way, $83. Three transfers: Fred- erick MD, Chicago, and Minneapolis.
BUS DRIVER: This completes service for this bus. Transfer information can be found on the boards inside. MAREN: Is there a place to get something to eat?
MAREN: Where does this bus go? BUS DRIVER: Columbus Ohio, Miss. MAREN: I missed my bus this morning to Chicago. Can I ride this one? MAREN: I can catch a Chicago bus from Ohio, can’t I? Please. I need to keep moving--
MAREN: You’re right, by the way. Your aunt was pretty boring. But why does she have placemats for hookers? KAYLA: Nice work, you motard. I already found this note you put in my purse. You’re leaving?! Already?
MAREN: Do you have a telephone book? The one outside’s gone. --I’m looking for someone in Bagley. CLERK: This is for the county, sweetie.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 52 are women's.

445 lines from women, 407 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

12 women and 9 men in the cast. 11 women and 5 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 873. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 29 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

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

Words spoken

Women speak 43% of the words (4,745), men 57% (6,409). Women have 52% 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 18 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 40% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Luca Guadagnino (man)
Written by
David Kajganich (man)
From the novel by
Camille DeAngelis (woman)
Produced by
David Kajganich (man), Luca Guadagnino (man), Francesco Melzi d'Eril (man), Theresa Park (woman), Marco Morabito (man), Peter Spears (man) and 3 more
Shot by
Arseni Khachaturan (man)
Edited by
Marco Costa (man)
Music by
Trent Reznor (man), Atticus Ross (man)
Production design by
Elliott Hostetter (man)
Cast by
Francine Maisler (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Production

    4 women, 12 men, 7 not listed

  • Sound

    2 women, 6 men, 11 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    3 women, 3 men, 11 not listed

  • Camera

    1 women, 2 men, 10 not listed

  • Art

    5 women, 1 men, 5 not listed

  • Other crew

    2 women, 0 men, 7 not listed

  • Visual Effects

    0 women, 0 men, 7 not listed

  • Directing

    1 women, 2 men, 3 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 37 on average. Men: 46 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Kendle Coffey 17, Anna Cobb 19, Taylor Russell 28, Chloë Sevigny 48, Jessica Harper 73

Men

Timothée Chalamet 26, André Holland 42, David Gordon Green 47, Michael Stuhlbarg 54, Mark Rylance 62

Exhibit H: the money

It made 95% of what it cost.

Budget
$16 million
Box office
$15.2 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 152 scenes and 873 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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