Passes the Bechdel test

Carol

Name: Carol
Released: 2016

2016. Directed by Todd Haynes, written by Patricia Highsmith and Phyllis Nagy.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
14 women characters. 12 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 41 scenes out of 164.
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

In an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's seminal novel The Price of Salt, CAROL follows two women from very different backgrounds who find themselves in an unexpected love affair in 1950s New York. As conventional norms of the time challenge their undeniable attraction, an honest story emerges to reveal the resilience of the heart in the face of change. A young woman in her 20s, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), is a clerk working in a Manhattan department store and dreaming of a more fulfilling life when she meets Carol (Cate Blanchett), an alluring woman trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage. As an immediate connection sparks between them, the innocence of their first encounter dims and their connection deepens. While Carol breaks free from the confines of marriage, her husband (Kyle Chandler) begins to question her competence as a mother as her involvement with Therese and close relationship with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) come to light.

Released: 15 Jan 2016
Genres: Drama, Romance
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.3 / 10
Metascore: 94 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 6 Oscars. 76 wins & 255 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Carol 286 lines, woman
Therese 277 lines, woman
Richard 71 lines, man
Abby 54 lines, woman
Harge 40 lines, man
Dannie 37 lines, man
Tommy Tucker 23 lines, man
Jack 19 lines, man
Fred Haymes 16 lines, man
Phil 13 lines, man

Full cast, 42 people

Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird
Rooney Mara as Therese Belivet
Kyle Chandler as Harge Aird
Jake Lacy as Richard Semco
Sarah Paulson as Abby Gerhard
John Magaro as Dannie McElroy
Cory Michael Smith as Tommy Tucker
Kevin Crowley as Fred Haymes
Nik Pajic as Phil McElroy
Carrie Brownstein as Genevieve Cantrell
Trent Rowland as Jack Taft
Sadie Heim as Rindy Aird
Kk Heim as Rindy Aird
Amy Warner as Jennifer Aird
Michael Haney as John Aird
Wendy Lardin as Jeanette Harrison
Pamela Evans Haynes as Roberta Walls
Greg Violand as Jerry Rix
Michael Joseph Thomas Ward as Shipping Clerk
Kay Geiger as McKinley Motel Manager
Christine Dye as Landlady
Deb G. Girdler as Motel Clerk
Douglas Scott Sorenson as Male Party Guest
Ken Strunk as Ritz Bartender
Mike Dennis as Frankenberg Security Guard
Ann Reskin as Florence
Annie Kalahurka as Embarassed Mom
Linnea Bond as Drake Hostess
Steven Andrews as New York Times Clerk
Tanya Smith as Fred Haymes's Secretary
Ryan Wesley Gilreath as NYC Waiter
Chuck Gillespie as Oak Room Waiter
Jeremy Parker as Dorothy
Giedre Bond as Party Girl #1
Taylor Marie Frey as Party Girl #2
Liberty Fraysure as Frankenberg Employee (uncredited)
Robert J. Ashe as Oak Room Patron / Pedestrian (uncredited)
Anita Farmer Bergman as Oak Room Patron (uncredited)
Colin Botts as Ted Grey (uncredited)
Chelsea Carnder as McKinley Motel Patron's Daughter (uncredited)
Gary Chinn as Restaurant / Pedestrian (uncredited)
Misty M. Jump as Oak Room Patron (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 164

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	11	11
5 to 8	2	3
9 to 12	10	6
13 to 16	37	2
17 to 20	13	27
21 to 24	3	5
25 to 28	18	11
29 to 32	7	0
33 to 36	47	1
37 to 40	13	0
41 to 44	13	4
45 to 48	21	19
49 to 52	8	8
53 to 56	31	3
57 to 60	10	3
61 to 64	7	7
65 to 68	13	4
69 to 72	14	7
73 to 76	20	0
77 to 80	20	12
81 to 84	45	17
85 to 88	18	9
89 to 92	18	2
93 to 96	28	0
97 to 100	0	0
101 to 104	21	5
105 to 108	12	3
109 to 112	14	11
113 to 116	16	0
117 to 120	5	2
121 to 124	35	13
125 to 128	22	4
129 to 132	16	0
133 to 136	12	0
137 to 140	2	0
141 to 144	14	1
145 to 148	13	14
149 to 152	27	7
153 to 156	11	8
157 to 160	31	8
161 to 164	1	2

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.

THERESE: Well - yes. I just planned to get there a little... CAROL: You should go ahead.

CAROL: I’m looking for a doll. She’s about- - this high and this wide and... : Let’s begin again, shall we? CAROL: I wonder if you might help me find this doll for my daughter. THERESE: Bright Betsy. She cries. CAROL: Oh she does?

ROBERTA WALLS: Belivet? Miss Belivet? ROBERTA WALLS: Over here please. Now? THERESE: Sorry - I’m - excuse me. THERESE: Hello?

CAROL: I did. And the gloves. Thank you so much. You’re a star for sending them. I just called to say - thank you, really. THERESE: Of course. CAROL: Oh, shit - sorry. What I mean to say - Do you get a lunch hour there? - Let me take you to lunch. It’s the least I can do.

CAROL: I’m so sorry to keep you waiting. I’ll have the creamed spinach over poached eggs. And a dry martini. With an olive. THERESE: I’ll have the same.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 74 are women's.

679 lines from women, 239 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

14 women and 10 men in the cast. 12 women and 10 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 7 of 941. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 7 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 69% of the words (5,766), men 31% (2,618). Women have 74% 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

7 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 48% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Todd Haynes (man)
Written by: Phyllis Nagy (woman)
From the novel by: Patricia Highsmith (woman)
Produced by: Stephen Woolley (man), Christine Vachon (woman), Elizabeth Karlsen (woman)
Shot by: Edward Lachman (man)
Edited by: Affonso Gonçalves (man)
Music by: Carter Burwell (man)
Production design by: Judy Becker (woman)
Costumes by: Sandy Powell (woman)
Cast by: Laura Rosenthal (woman)