Fails the Bechdel test
Brokeback Mountain
2006. Directed by Ang Lee, written by Annie Proulx and Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
13 women characters. 10 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
Brokeback Mountain, Wyoming. Their acquaintance began in the warm summer of 1963 when cowboys Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist ended up on the sheep farm of Joe Aguirre. They were looking for work. And under unexpected circumstances, the two men developed an intimate relationship that evolved into a profound but secret bond right under the nose of their families. After all, life is an exciting surprise. Who can stop love, life's ultimate truth?
- Released
- 13 Jan 2006
- Genres
- Drama, Romance
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 87 / 100
- Awards
- Won 3 Oscars. 141 wins & 133 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ennis 138 lines, man
- Jack 114 lines, man
- Alma 31 lines, woman
- Lureen 19 lines, woman
- Cassie 15 lines, woman
- Joe Aguirre 10 lines, man
- Monroe 7 lines, man
- Bartender 6 lines, man
- Basque 6 lines, man
- Alma Jr 5 lines, woman
Full cast, 51 people
- Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar
- Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist
- Michelle Williams as Alma Beers
- Anne Hathaway as Lureen Newsome
- Randy Quaid as Joe Aguirre
- Linda Cardellini as Cassie Cartwright
- Anna Faris as Lashawn Malone
- David Harbour as Randall Malone
- Roberta Maxwell as Jack's Mother
- Kate Mara as Alma Del Mar Jr. (age 19)
- Peter McRobbie as John Twist
- Graham Beckel as L.D. Newsome
- Mary Liboiron as Fayette Newsome
- Scott Michael Campbell as Monroe
- Marty Antonini as Timmy
- David Trimble as Basque
- Larry Reese as Jolly Minister
- Valerie Planche as Waitress
- Victor Reyes as Chilean Sheepherder #1
- Lachlan Mackintosh as Chilean Sheepherder #2
- Tom Carey as Rodeo Clown
- Don Bland as Biker #1
- Steven Cree Molison as Biker #2
- Duval Lang as Announcer
- Dan McDougall as Bartender #1
- Dean Barrett as Bartender #2
- Kade Phillips as Ennis Del Mar (age 9)
- Steffen Cole Moser as K.E. Del Mar (age 11)
- Cheyenne Hill as Alma Del Mar Jr. (age 13)
- Cayla Wolever as Jenny Del Mar (age 11)
- Sarah Hyslop as Alma Del Mar Jr. (age 9-12)
- Jacey Kenny as Jenny Del Mar (age 7-8)
- Keanna Dubé as Alma Del Mar Jr. (age 5)
- Brooklynn Proulx as Jenny Del Mar (age 4)
- Hannah Stewart as Alma Jr. (age 3)
- Jake Church as Bobby Twist (age 10)
- James Baker as Farmer #1
- Pete Seadon as Farmer #2
- Jerry Callaghan as Judge
- Ken Zilka as Roughneck #1
- John Tench as Roughneck #2
- Will Martin as Carl
- Gary Lauder as Killer Mechanic
- Christian Fraser as Grease Monkey
- Cam Sutherland as Assailant
- Barb Mitchell as Western Dancer (uncredited)
- Rodrigo Prieto as Young Mexican (uncredited)
- Ken Roberts as Signal Bartender (uncredited)
- Kailin See as Hippy Girl (uncredited)
- Jayson Therrien as Bar Patron (uncredited)
- Erika Walter as Waitress #2 (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 13% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 124
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 | 1 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 10 |
| 7 to 9 | 2 | 13 |
| 10 to 12 | 2 | 18 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 3 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 15 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 9 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 12 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 6 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 8 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 4 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 6 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 11 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 5 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 7 |
| 55 to 57 | 1 | 3 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 9 |
| 61 to 63 | 8 | 21 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 1 |
| 67 to 69 | 6 | 8 |
| 70 to 72 | 3 | 2 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 to 78 | 2 | 24 |
| 79 to 81 | 9 | 9 |
| 82 to 84 | 5 | 2 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 7 |
| 88 to 90 | 3 | 7 |
| 91 to 93 | 7 | 9 |
| 94 to 96 | 13 | 19 |
| 97 to 99 | 5 | 9 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 5 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 21 |
| 106 to 108 | 7 | 3 |
| 109 to 111 | 4 | 3 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 0 |
| 115 to 117 | 4 | 7 |
| 118 to 120 | 3 | 7 |
| 121 to 123 | 3 | 4 |
| 124 to 124 | 0 | 1 |
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, 22 are women's.
87 lines from women, 312 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
13 women and 24 men in the cast. 10 women and 22 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 25 of 461.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 114 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 23% of the words (1,291), men 77% (4,438). Women have 22% 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
1
Two men
45
Exhibit E: behind the camera
6 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 29% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Ang Lee (man)
- Written by
- Larry McMurtry (man), Diana Ossana (woman)
- Produced by
- Diana Ossana (woman), James Schamus (man)
- Shot by
- Rodrigo Prieto (man)
- Edited by
- Geraldine Peroni (woman), Dylan Tichenor (man)
- Music by
- Gustavo Santaolalla (man)
- Production design by
- Judy Becker (woman)
- Costumes by
- Marit Allen (woman)
- Cast by
- Avy Kaufman (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
3 women, 16 men, 6 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 7 men, 5 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 2 men, 5 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 7 men, 2 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 4 men, 5 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 1 men, 5 not listed
-
Editing
2 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 32 on average. Men: 34 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Anne Hathaway 22, Kate Mara 22, Michelle Williams 25, Anna Faris 28, Linda Cardellini 30, Roberta Maxwell 64
Men
Jake Gyllenhaal 24, Heath Ledger 26, David Harbour 30, Randy Quaid 55
Exhibit G: the money
It made 12.7 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $14 million
- Box office
- $178 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 124 scenes and 461 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
