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Fails the Bechdel test

Daredevil

2003. Directed by Mark Steven Johnson, written by Mark Steven Johnson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    7 women characters. 4 of them speak.
  2. No 2. Who talk to each other
    Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
  3. No 3. About something besides a man
    Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 0 out of 3.

Poster for Daredevil

The film

Fate deals young orphan Matt Murdock a strange hand when he is doused with hazardous waste. The accident leaves Matt blind but also gives him a heightened "radar sense" that allows him to "see" far better than any man. Years later Murdock has grown into a man and becomes a respected criminal attorney. But after he's done his "day job" Matt takes on a secret identity as "The Man Without Fear," Daredevil, the masked avenger that patrols the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen and New York City to combat the injustice that he cannot tackle in the courtroom.

Released
14 Feb 2003
Genres
Action, Crime, Drama
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
5.3 / 10
Metascore
42 / 100
Awards
5 wins & 17 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Matt 160 lines, man
  2. Foggy 120 lines, man
  3. Elektra 84 lines, woman
  4. Fisk 53 lines, man
  5. Urich 48 lines, man
  6. Daredevil 34 lines, man
  7. Bullseye 31 lines, man
  8. Jack 20 lines, man
  9. Quesada 20 lines, man
  10. Cordoza 12 lines, man
Full cast, 76 people
  • Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock / Daredevil
  • Jennifer Garner as Elektra
  • Colin Farrell as Bullseye
  • Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin / Fisk
  • Joe Pantoliano as Urich
  • Jon Favreau as Franklin Nelson
  • Scott Terra as Young Matt
  • Ellen Pompeo as Karen Page
  • Leland Orser as Wesley
  • Lennie Loftin as Manolis
  • Erick Avari as Natchios
  • Derrick O'Connor as Father Everett
  • Paul Ben-Victor as Quesada
  • David Keith as Jack Murdock
  • Frankie J. Allison as Abusive Father
  • Joe J. Garcia as Meat Packer
  • John Rothman as Quesada Attorney
  • Jim Fitzgerald as Ring Announcer
  • Casey McCarthy as Angela Sutton
  • Louis Bernstein as Judge #1
  • Josie DiVincenzo as Josie
  • Jorge Noa as NY Cop #1
  • Levett M. Washington as Kid #1
  • Alberto Gutierrez as Kid #2
  • Lakeith S. Evans as Kid #3
  • Stefanos Miltsakakis as Stavros
  • Pat Crawford Brown as Sweet Old Lady
  • Carrie Geiben as Flight Attendant
  • Luke Strode as Little Boy
  • Bruce Mibach as Rookie Cop
  • David Doty as Drunken Englishman
  • Ron Mathews as Sharpshooter
  • Kevin Smith as Forensic Assistant
  • Daniel B. Wing as Quesada's Friend
  • Jeff Padilla as Quesada's Friend #2
  • Dan Brinkle as Referee
  • Jack Reiss as Boxing Referee #2
  • Stan Lee as Old Man at Crossing
  • Sonya Didenko as Quesada's Friend #3
  • Greg Christopher Smith as Swat Leader
  • Christopher Prescott as Policeman
  • Ari Randall as Waitress
  • John S. Bakas as Greek Priest
  • Greg Collins as Fisk Bodyguard
  • Robert Iler as Bully #1
  • Chad Tucker as Bully #2
  • Jamie Mahoney as Bully #3
  • Jorn H. Winther as Stavros' Friend
  • Frank Miller as Man with Pen in Head
  • Christian Boeving as Bodyguard (uncredited)
  • Adam Blake Boswell as Irish Drunk (uncredited)
  • David Burrows as Man at the Ball (uncredited)
  • Carlo Corazon as Gangster at Bar (uncredited)
  • Michael Duisenberg as Bartender (uncredited)
  • Halley Eveland as Boy at Funeral (uncredited)
  • Claudine Farrell as Girl in Pub / Voice on Answering Machine (uncredited)
  • André Gordon as Body Guard (uncredited)
  • Douglas Haase as Party Member (uncredited)
  • Kane Hodder as Fallon's Bodyguard (uncredited)
  • Suzie Johnson as Dancer at Party (uncredited)
  • Boyd Kelly as UPS Man (uncredited)
  • Tina Lorraine as Model at Ball (uncredited)
  • Mark Margolis as Fallon (uncredited)
  • Rebecca Michael as Dancer at Party (uncredited)
  • Brian M. Olson as Dancer at Party (uncredited)
  • Kevin Porter as Bodyguard (uncredited)
  • Tanoai Reed as Pool Hall Thug (uncredited)
  • Thierry Segall as Photographer (uncredited)
  • Sandra Teles as Woman at the Ball (uncredited)
  • Nancy Wetzel as Kate (uncredited)
  • Patrick Williams as Tavern Patron (uncredited)
  • Al Leong as Bar Thug (uncredited)
  • Coolio as Dante Jackson (Director's Cut)
  • Dina Rosenmeier as Biker Girl (Director's Cut)
  • Jude Ciccolella as Robert McKensie (Director's Cut)
  • Kevin Spirtas as Prosecutor at Jackson Trial (Director's Cut)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 81

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 201
3 to 4022
5 to 6014
7 to 800
9 to 1000
11 to 1200
13 to 1400
15 to 1609
17 to 18017
19 to 2007
21 to 22415
23 to 24013
25 to 26625
27 to 2809
29 to 301044
31 to 322028
33 to 34021
35 to 36221
37 to 38112
39 to 401524
41 to 4201
43 to 44322
45 to 461573
47 to 48210
49 to 5012
51 to 5204
53 to 5425
55 to 5603
57 to 58122
59 to 60018
61 to 62015
63 to 64719
65 to 6637
67 to 6825
69 to 7020
71 to 721825
73 to 7400
75 to 76011
77 to 78018
79 to 80023
81 to 8109

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, 17 are women's.

114 lines from women, 574 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

7 women and 40 men in the cast. 4 women and 29 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 84 of 765. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 83 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 15% of the words (1,014), men 85% (5,674). Women have 17% 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

Exhibit E: behind the camera

2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 17% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Mark Steven Johnson (man)
Written by
Mark Steven Johnson (man)
Produced by
Arnon Milchan (man), Gary Foster (man), Avi Arad (man)
Shot by
Ericson Core (man)
Edited by
Armen Minasian (man), Dennis Virkler (man)
Music by
Graeme Revell (man)
Production design by
Barry Chusid (man)
Costumes by
James Acheson (man)
Cast by
Donna Isaacson (woman), Eyde Belasco (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    12 women, 89 men, 47 not listed

  • Camera

    1 women, 20 men, 23 not listed

  • Art

    3 women, 17 men, 22 not listed

  • Production

    7 women, 14 men, 19 not listed

  • Visual Effects

    4 women, 6 men, 29 not listed

  • Sound

    3 women, 25 men, 10 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    6 women, 6 men, 14 not listed

  • Lighting

    0 women, 7 men, 15 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 32 on average. Men: 35 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Jennifer Garner 30, Ellen Pompeo 33

Men

Scott Terra 15, Colin Farrell 26, Ben Affleck 30, Lennie Loftin 33, Jon Favreau 36, Leland Orser 42, Michael Clarke Duncan 45, Joe Pantoliano 51

Exhibit G: the money

It made 2.3 times what it cost.

Budget
$78 million
Box office
$179 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 81 scenes and 765 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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