Fails the Bechdel test

Constantine

Name: Constantine
Released: 2005

2005. Directed by Francis Lawrence, written by Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis and Kevin Brodbin.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
10 women characters. 5 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 1 out of 3.

The film

John Constantine is approached by Det. Angela Dodson who needs his help to prove that her twin sister Isabel's death was not a suicide. The dead woman was a devout Catholic and Angela refuses to accept she would have taken her own life. She's asked Constantine for help because he has a reputation for dealing with the mystical. In fact, he is a demon hunter whose sole purpose on Earth is to send demons back to the nether regions. John himself has been to Hell and knows that he is destined to return there on his death - but hopes his good deeds may find him a place in Heaven. As he looks into Isabel's death, he realizes demons are trying to break through to the human world, and his battles lead him into a direct conflict with Satan.

Released: 18 Feb 2005
Genres: Action, Fantasy, Horror
Rated: R
IMDb: 7 / 10
Metascore: 50 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 11 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

John 341 lines, man
Angela 131 lines, woman
Midnite 48 lines, man
Chaz 25 lines, man
Gabriel 21 lines, woman
Hennessey 21 lines, man
Satan 19 lines, man
Beeman 18 lines, man
Balthazar 16 lines, man
Ellie 16 lines, woman

Full cast, 36 people

Keanu Reeves as John Constantine
Rachel Weisz as Angela Dodson / Isabel Dodson
Shia LaBeouf as Chas Kramer
Djimon Hounsou as Midnite
Max Baker as Beeman
Pruitt Taylor Vince as Father Hennessy
Gavin Rossdale as Balthazar
Tilda Swinton as Gabriel
Peter Stormare as Lucifer
Jesse Ramirez as Scavenger
José Zúñiga as Detective Weiss
April Grace as Dr. Leslie Archer
Larry Cedar as Vermin Man
Francis Guinan as Father Garret
Suzanne Whang as Mother
Jhoanna Trias as Possessed Girl
Alice Lo as Old Woman
Nicholas Downs as Church Attendant
Tanoai Reed as Midnite Bouncer
Quinn Buniel as 10 Year-Old Constantine
Ann Ryerson as Old Woman on Bus
Stephanie Fabian as Molly's Server
Connor Dylan Wryn as Teenage Constantine
Laz Alonso as Morgue Security Guard
Jeremy Ray Valdez as Liquor Store Clerk Nico
Jose Molina as Scavenger #2
Barbara Pilavin as Old Woman on Bus (Demon)
C.W. Pyun as Korean Man
Sharon Omi as Female Tenant
Edward J. Rosen as Liquor Store Clerk
John Gipson as Smoking Man
Roberto Kawata as Police Officer
Michelle Monaghan as Ellie (uncredited)
R.A. Rondell as Man in Jeep (uncredited)
Chad Stahelski as Demon in Hospital (uncredited)
Kevin Alejandro as Border Patrol (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 1% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 155

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	0	0
5 to 8	0	0
9 to 12	0	1
13 to 16	0	0
17 to 20	2	27
21 to 24	0	19
25 to 28	4	9
29 to 32	4	41
33 to 36	0	53
37 to 40	5	3
41 to 44	0	0
45 to 48	2	6
49 to 52	5	4
53 to 56	10	8
57 to 60	14	19
61 to 64	3	16
65 to 68	28	37
69 to 72	3	9
73 to 76	3	6
77 to 80	2	4
81 to 84	0	3
85 to 88	5	13
89 to 92	2	4
93 to 96	21	23
97 to 100	6	6
101 to 104	22	25
105 to 108	4	4
109 to 112	0	6
113 to 116	2	27
117 to 120	8	26
121 to 124	0	5
125 to 128	0	33
129 to 132	0	8
133 to 136	0	11
137 to 140	6	10
141 to 144	9	48
145 to 148	6	7
149 to 152	0	0
153 to 155	0	4

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, 25 are women's.

176 lines from women, 525 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

10 women and 23 men in the cast. 5 women and 12 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 8 of 710. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 60 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 26% of the words (1,565), men 74% (4,426). Women have 25% 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

4 of the 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Francis Lawrence (man)
Written by: Kevin Brodbin (man), Frank A. Cappello (man)
Story by: Kevin Brodbin (man)
Produced by: Benjamin Melniker (man), Erwin Stoff (man), Michael Uslan (man), Akiva Goldsman (man), Lauren Shuler Donner (woman), Lorenzo di Bonaventura (man)
Shot by: Philippe Rousselot (man)
Edited by: Wayne Wahrman (man)
Music by: Brian Tyler (man), Klaus Badelt (man)
Production design by: Naomi Shohan (woman)
Costumes by: Louise Frogley (woman)
Cast by: Denise Chamian (woman)