Fails the Bechdel test
Braveheart
1995. Directed by Mel Gibson, written by Randall Wallace.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
7 women characters. 1 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
William Wallace is a Scottish rebel who leads an uprising against the cruel English ruler Edward Longshanks, who wishes to inherit the crown of Scotland for himself. When he was a young boy, William Wallace's father and brother, along with many others, lost their lives trying to free Scotland. Once he loses another of his loved ones, William Wallace begins his long quest to make Scotland free once and for all, along with the assistance of Robert the Bruce.
- Released
- 24 May 1995
- Genres
- Drama, War
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 8.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 68 / 100
- Awards
- Won 5 Oscars. 34 wins & 34 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Wallace 114 lines, man
- Princess 63 lines, woman
- William 55 lines, man
- Hamish 39 lines, man
- Robert 37 lines, man
- Longshanks 33 lines, man
- Edward 30 lines, man
- Craig 26 lines, man
- Campbell 23 lines, man
- Magistrate 22 lines, man
Full cast, 61 people
- Mel Gibson as William Wallace
- Catherine McCormack as Murron MacClannough
- Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabelle
- Patrick McGoohan as King Edward
- Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce
- Brendan Gleeson as Hamish Campbell
- James Robinson as Young William Wallace
- James Cosmo as Campbell
- Sean McGinley as MacClannough
- Gerda Stevenson as Mother MacClannough
- Mhairi Calvey as Young Murron MacClannough
- Jeanne Marine as Nicolette
- Sean Lawlor as Malcolm Wallace
- Sandy Nelson as John Wallace
- Alan Tall as Elder Stewart
- Andrew Weir as Young Hamish Campbell
- Brian Cox as Argyle Wallace
- Peter Hanly as Edward, Prince of Wales
- Stephen Billington as Phillip
- Tommy Flanagan as Morrison
- Rupert Vansittart as Lord Bottoms
- Tam White as MacGregor
- Ian Bannen as Robert Bruce Sr.
- David O'Hara as Stephen, Irish Fighter
- Peter Mullan as Veteran
- David Gant as Chief Justice/Executioner
- Malcolm Tierney as Magistrate
- Martin Murphy as Lord Talmadge
- Gerard McSorley as Cheltham
- Bernard Horsfall as Balliol
- Richard Leaf as Governor of York
- Liam Carney as Sean
- Ralph Riach as Priest No. 1
- Barry McGovern as King's Advisor
- John Kavanagh as Craig
- Alun Armstrong as Mornay
- Julie Austin as Mrs. Morrison
- Alex Norton as Bride's Father
- Michael Byrne as Smythe
- William Scott-Masson as Corporal
- Dean Lopata as Madbaker / Flagman
- Donal Gibson as Stewart
- Jimmy Chisholm as Faudron
- John Murtagh as Lochlan
- David McKay as Young soldier
- Niall O'Brien as English General
- Martin Dempsey as Drinker #1
- Jimmy Keogh as Drinker #2
- Joe Savino as Chief Assassin
- Mal Whyte as Jailor
- Paul Tucker as English Commander
- Greg Jeloudov as Warrior #2 (uncredited)
- Jer O'Leary as English General (uncredited)
- Joanne Bett as Toothless Girl
- Robert Paterson as Priest No. 2
- Martin Dunne as Lord Dolecroft
- Fred Chiverton as Leper's Caretaker
- Daniel Coll as York Captain
- Bill Murdoch as Villager
- Phil Kelly as Farmer
- Paul Tucker as English commander
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 126
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 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 15 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 15 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 5 |
| 28 to 30 | 8 | 18 |
| 31 to 33 | 2 | 39 |
| 34 to 36 | 4 | 6 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 15 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 to 45 | 1 | 17 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 8 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 20 |
| 55 to 57 | 3 | 19 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 1 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 21 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 4 |
| 67 to 69 | 9 | 33 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 64 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 25 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 3 |
| 79 to 81 | 14 | 29 |
| 82 to 84 | 6 | 10 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 41 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 7 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 13 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 to 99 | 6 | 9 |
| 100 to 102 | 1 | 5 |
| 103 to 105 | 11 | 7 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 14 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 17 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 5 |
| 115 to 117 | 2 | 2 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 11 |
| 121 to 123 | 13 | 19 |
| 124 to 126 | 0 | 9 |
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, 13 are women's.
80 lines from women, 545 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
7 women and 46 men in the cast. 1 women and 47 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 71 of 698.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 128 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 15% of the words (1,089), men 85% (6,142). Women have 13% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
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
0
Two men
56
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 11 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 19% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Mel Gibson (man)
- Written by
- Randall Wallace (man)
- Produced by
- Bruce Davey (man), Alan Ladd Jr. (man), Mel Gibson (man)
- Shot by
- John Toll (man)
- Edited by
- Steven Rosenblum (man)
- Music by
- James Horner (man)
- Production design by
- Thomas E. Sanders (man)
- Costumes by
- Charles Knode (man)
- Cast by
- Patsy Pollock (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
6 women, 27 men, 16 not listed
-
Other crew
5 women, 28 men, 13 not listed
-
Production
6 women, 9 men, 13 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 9 men, 17 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 11 men, 15 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 4 men, 17 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 7 men, 9 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 7 men, 5 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 30 on average. Men: 39 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Catherine McCormack 23, Sophie Marceau 28, Gerda Stevenson 39
Men
James Robinson 11, Angus Macfadyen 31, Mel Gibson 39, Sean McGinley 39, Brendan Gleeson 40, James Cosmo 47, Patrick McGoohan 67
Exhibit G: the money
It made 3.0 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $72 million
- Box office
- $213 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 126 scenes and 698 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
