Passes the Bechdel test

Boyhood

Name: Boyhood
Released: 2014

2014. Directed by Richard Linklater, written by Richard Linklater.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
15 women characters. 13 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 160.
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.

The film

Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, Richard Linklater's BOYHOOD is a groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason (a breakthrough performance by Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on screen before our eyes. Starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason's parents and newcomer Lorelei Linklater as his sister Samantha, BOYHOOD charts the rocky terrain of childhood like no other film has before. Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and all the moments in between become transcendent, set to a soundtrack spanning the years from Coldplay's Yellow to Arcade Fire's Deep Blue. BOYHOOD is both a nostalgic time capsule of the recent past and an ode to growing up and parenting.

Released: 15 Aug 2014
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.9 / 10
Metascore: 100 / 100
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. 179 wins & 222 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Mason 437 lines, man
Dad 359 lines, man
Mom 251 lines, woman
Samantha 211 lines, woman
Bill 98 lines, man
Sheena 68 lines, woman
Grandma 40 lines, woman
Annie 31 lines, woman
Jim 30 lines, man
Mindy 21 lines

Full cast, 81 people

Ellar Coltrane as Mason
Patricia Arquette as Mom
Ethan Hawke as Dad
Lorelei Linklater as Samantha
Libby Villari as Grandma
Marco Perella as Professor Bill Welbrock
Brad Hawkins as Jim
Jamie Howard as Mindy
Andrew Villarreal as Randy
Jenni Tooley as Annie
Zoe Graham as Sheena
Charlie Sexton as Jimmy
Elijah Smith as Tommy
Steven Chester Prince as Ted
Bonnie Cross as Teacher
Sydney Orta as Elementary School Girl
Shane Graham as Neighborhood Friend #1
Tess Allen as Neighborhood Friend #2
Ryan Power as Paul
Sharee Fowler as Book Trivia Judge
Mark Finn as Book Release Emcee
Byron Jenkins as Barber
Holly Moore as Mason's 4th Grade Teacher
David Blackwell as Liquor Store Clerk
Barbara Chisholm as Carol
Matthew Martinez-Arndt as Lee
Cassidy Johnson as Abby
Cambell Westmoreland as Kenny
Jennifer Griffin as Mrs. Darby
Garry Peters as No Obama Man
Merrilee McCommas as Obama Mama
Tamara Jolaine as Tammy
Jordan Howard as Tony
Andrew Bunten as Bully 1
Tyler Strother as Bully 2
Evie Thompson as Jill
Savannah Welch as College Girl Singer
Mika Odom as Gabi
Sinjin Venegas as Chase
Nick Krause as Charlie
Derek Chase Hickey as Charlie's Friend
Angela Rawna as Professor Douglas
Megan Devine as Make Out Girl
Landon Collier as Cooper
Roland Ruiz as Ernesto
Richard Andrew Jones as Grandpa Cliff
Karen Jones as Nana
Gordon Friday as Pastor
Tom McTigue as Mr. Turlington
Sam Dillon as Nick
Martel Summers as Beer Pong Guy
David Clark as High School Band Singer
Jessie Tilton as April
Richard Robichaux as Mason's Boss
Will Harris as Sam's College Boyfriend
Indica Shaw as Hooper
Bruce Salmon as Guitar Player
Wayne Sutton as Beat Box
Joe Sundell as Band Member 1
Sean Tracey as Band Member 2
Ben Hodges as Band Member 3
Daniel Zeh as Band Member 4
Chris Doubek as Guy in Diner
Andrea Chen as Sam's Roommate
Mona Lee Fultz as High School Teacher
Bill Wise as Uncle Steve
Alina Linklater as Twin Cousin 1
Charlotte Linklater as Twin Cousin 2
Genevieve Kinney as Woman at Party
Elijah Ford as Jimmy's Bandmate 1
Kyle Crusham as Jimmy's Bandmate 2
Conrad Choucroun as Jimmy's Bandmate 3
Maximillian McNamara as Dalton
Taylor Weaver as Barb
Jessi Mechler as Nicole
Deanna Brochin as College Student (uncredited)
Stephen Latham as Late Night Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Heather Materne as Parent (uncredited)
Johnny Walter as Dinner Guest (uncredited)
Natalie Makenna as College Student (uncredited)
Ken Edwards as Dinner Guest (uncredited)

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 160

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	13	11
5 to 8	19	16
9 to 12	16	12
13 to 16	15	7
17 to 20	11	2
21 to 24	60	35
25 to 28	38	79
29 to 32	16	24
33 to 36	14	41
37 to 40	2	12
41 to 44	19	28
45 to 48	15	35
49 to 52	6	33
53 to 56	14	27
57 to 60	5	3
61 to 64	13	6
65 to 68	6	17
69 to 72	8	20
73 to 76	30	16
77 to 80	14	4
81 to 84	40	62
85 to 88	0	48
89 to 92	3	11
93 to 96	35	22
97 to 100	22	75
101 to 104	7	12
105 to 108	16	25
109 to 112	28	48
113 to 116	20	49
117 to 120	11	41
121 to 124	12	19
125 to 128	20	34
129 to 132	50	48
133 to 136	17	17
137 to 140	10	16
141 to 144	18	33
145 to 148	37	31
149 to 152	27	75
153 to 156	10	13
157 to 160	19	41

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.

SAMANTHA: Think it's true? NEIGHBORHOOD GIRL: She's always walking in the locker room.

ANNIE: But still demand I stay. SAMANTHA: I want for you to know me completely, but still remain mysterious.

ANNIE: Yeah, thanks. SAMANTHA: Mason, why are you such a stick-in- the-mud?

CAROL: I will. SAMANTHA: Abby, I didn't even recognize you. How old are you now?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 39 are women's.

736 lines from women, 1148 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

15 women and 19 men in the cast. 13 women and 16 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 2,004. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 69 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 34% of the words (6,509), men 66% (12,515). Women have 39% 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

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

4 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 25% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Richard Linklater (man)
Written by: Richard Linklater (man)
Produced by: Cathleen Sutherland (woman), Richard Linklater (man), Jonathan Sehring (man), John Sloss (man)
Shot by: Lee Daniel (man), Shane F. Kelly (man)
Edited by: Sandra Adair (woman)
Production design by: Rodney Becker (man), Gay Studebaker (gender not listed)
Costumes by: Kari Perkins (woman)
Cast by: Beth Sepko (woman)