Fails the Bechdel test

Come to Daddy

Name: Come to Daddy
Released: 2020

2020. Directed by Ant Timpson, written by Toby Harvard and Ant Timpson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
3 women characters. 2 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 1 out of 3.

The film

Norval's life has been, to put it lightly, difficult. Currently living home with his mother, the troubled young man is coming off alcohol-related struggles. So when he receives an unexpected letter from his estranged father requesting a visit, Norval catches a bus up to his dad's secluded and scenic waterfront home. Maybe reconnecting with his father will give Norval the emotional fulfillment he's been lacking. Before long, though, he notices something off about his dad, an uneasy feeling triggered by inappropriate comments and a possible over-dependence on booze. Norval quickly realizes that his hope of father/son bonding is doomed. Instead of a family reunion, he finds himself in waking nightmare.

Released: 07 Feb 2020
Genres: Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6 / 10
Metascore: 64 / 100
Awards: 9 wins & 11 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Norval 262 lines, man
Brian 181 lines, man
Gladys 40 lines, woman
Jethro 31 lines, man
Receptionist 17 lines
Precious 16 lines, woman
Rookie Cop 8 lines, man
Man 1 4 lines, man
Man 2 3 lines, man
Woman 3 lines, woman

Full cast, 14 people

Elijah Wood as Norval Greenwood
Stephen McHattie as Gordon
Michael Smiley as Jethro
Madeleine Sami as Gladys
Martin Donovan as Brian
Ona Grauer as Precious
Garfield Wilson as Ronald Plum
Simon Chin as Dandy
Ryan Beil as Danny
Raresh DiMofte as Swinger
Alla Rouba as Swinger
Gord Middleton as Swinger
Noam Zylberman as Swinger
Oliver Wilson as Young Norval

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 129

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	34
7 to 9	0	24
10 to 12	0	74
13 to 15	0	0
16 to 18	0	1
19 to 21	0	7
22 to 24	0	5
25 to 27	0	67
28 to 30	0	2
31 to 33	0	0
34 to 36	0	13
37 to 39	18	15
40 to 42	0	2
43 to 45	1	3
46 to 48	2	4
49 to 51	7	5
52 to 54	0	1
55 to 57	0	2
58 to 60	0	3
61 to 63	0	0
64 to 66	9	18
67 to 69	0	4
70 to 72	0	1
73 to 75	0	2
76 to 78	0	96
79 to 81	0	19
82 to 84	0	4
85 to 87	0	9
88 to 90	0	18
91 to 93	0	2
94 to 96	0	1
97 to 99	0	0
100 to 102	4	12
103 to 105	0	8
106 to 108	2	7
109 to 111	11	16
112 to 114	2	1
115 to 117	0	0
118 to 120	0	0
121 to 123	3	5
124 to 126	0	0
127 to 129	0	5

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, 11 are women's.

59 lines from women, 490 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

3 women and 11 men in the cast. 2 women and 3 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 228 of 569. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 227 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 12% of the words (494), men 88% (3,722). Women have 11% 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

5 of the 16 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Ant Timpson (man)
Written by: Toby Harvard (man)
Story by: Toby Harvard (man)
Produced by: Daniel Bekerman (man), Toby Harvard (man), Laura Tunstall (gender not listed), Mette-Marie Kongsved (gender not listed), Emma Slade (woman), Katie Holly (woman)
Shot by: Daniel Katz (man)
Edited by: Dan Kircher (gender not listed)
Music by: Karl Sölve Steven (man)
Production design by: Zosia Mackenzie (woman)
Costumes by: Angela Ganderton (gender not listed)
Cast by: Emma Gunnery (woman), Tiffany Mak (woman)