Fails the Bechdel test
Creation
2009. Directed by Jon Amiel, written by John Collee and Jon Amiel and Randal Keynes.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
4 women characters. 3 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
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
What happens when a world-renowned scientist, crushed by the loss of his eldest daughter, formulates a theory in conflict with religious dogma? This is the story of Charles Darwin and his master-work "The Origin of Species". It tells of a global revolution played out within the confines of a small English village; a passionate marriage torn apart by the most dangerous idea in history; and a theory saved from extinction by the logic of a child.
- Released
- 25 Sep 2009
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 51 / 100
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Darwin 243 lines, man
- Emma 98 lines, woman
- Annie 57 lines
- Innes 34 lines, man
- Hooker 26 lines, man
- Huxley 13 lines, man
- Mrs St John 12 lines, woman
- Charles 11 lines, man
- Parslow 10 lines, man
- Brodie 9 lines, man
Full cast, 21 people
- Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin
- Jennifer Connelly as Emma Darwin
- Martha West as Anne Darwin
- Guy Henry as Technician
- Jeremy Northam as John Brodie-Innes
- Toby Jones as Thomas Henry Huxley
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Joseph Dalton Hooker
- Jim Carter as Parslow
- Robert Glenister as Dr. Holland
- Ian Mercer as Goodman
- Bill Paterson as Dr. Gully
- Teresa Churcher as Mrs. Davies
- Richard Ridings as Thatcher
- Freya Parks as Etty Darwin
- Ian Kelly as Captain Fitzroy
- Anabolena Rodriguez as Fuegia Basket
- Paul Campbell as Boat Memory
- Zak Davies as Jemmy Button
- Christopher Dunkin as George Darwin
- Gene Goodman as Franky Darwin
- Harrison Sansostri as Lenny Darwin
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 15% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 169
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 | 1 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 9 |
| 9 to 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 to 20 | 16 | 25 |
| 21 to 24 | 7 | 30 |
| 25 to 28 | 2 | 1 |
| 29 to 32 | 4 | 6 |
| 33 to 36 | 1 | 4 |
| 37 to 40 | 8 | 43 |
| 41 to 44 | 0 | 14 |
| 45 to 48 | 0 | 10 |
| 49 to 52 | 6 | 8 |
| 53 to 56 | 0 | 7 |
| 57 to 60 | 9 | 22 |
| 61 to 64 | 8 | 18 |
| 65 to 68 | 2 | 5 |
| 69 to 72 | 0 | 5 |
| 73 to 76 | 0 | 1 |
| 77 to 80 | 6 | 4 |
| 81 to 84 | 3 | 2 |
| 85 to 88 | 0 | 3 |
| 89 to 92 | 0 | 9 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 4 |
| 97 to 100 | 3 | 37 |
| 101 to 104 | 8 | 23 |
| 105 to 108 | 2 | 2 |
| 109 to 112 | 0 | 19 |
| 113 to 116 | 0 | 9 |
| 117 to 120 | 12 | 12 |
| 121 to 124 | 0 | 6 |
| 125 to 128 | 0 | 0 |
| 129 to 132 | 0 | 5 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 6 |
| 137 to 140 | 3 | 5 |
| 141 to 144 | 16 | 17 |
| 145 to 148 | 0 | 3 |
| 149 to 152 | 0 | 5 |
| 153 to 156 | 0 | 2 |
| 157 to 160 | 0 | 1 |
| 161 to 164 | 0 | 1 |
| 165 to 168 | 4 | 3 |
| 169 to 169 | 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, 23 are women's.
120 lines from women, 393 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
4 women and 12 men in the cast. 3 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 27 of 604.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 37 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 21% of the words (1,295), men 79% (4,816). Women have 23% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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
2
Two men
37
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Jon Amiel (man)
- Written by
- John Collee (man)
- From the novel by
- Randal Keynes (man)
- Produced by
- Pip Ayers (gender not listed), Jeremy Thomas (man), Nick O'Hagan (gender not listed)
- Shot by
- Jess Hall (man)
- Edited by
- Melanie Oliver (woman)
- Music by
- Christopher Young (man)
- Production design by
- Laurence Dorman (gender not listed)
- Costumes by
- Louise Stjernsward (woman)
- Cast by
- Celestia Fox (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
3 women, 5 men, 3 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 0 men, 3 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 4 men
-
Directing
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Editing
1 women, 0 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 38 on average. Men: 46 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Jennifer Connelly 38
Men
Benedict Cumberbatch 33, Paul Bettany 38, Toby Jones 43, Jeremy Northam 47, Ian Mercer 47, Guy Henry 48, Robert Glenister 49, Jim Carter 61
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 169 scenes and 604 lines of dialogue. How the test works
