Passes the Bechdel test

Donnie Darko

Name: Donnie Darko
Released: 2001

2001. Directed by Richard Kelly, written by Richard Kelly.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
22 women characters. 16 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 11 scenes out of 184.
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, though someone marked that rating as dubious.

The film

Donnie Darko doesn't get along too well with his family, his teachers, and his classmates; but he does manage to find a sympathetic friend in Gretchen, who agrees to date him. He has a compassionate psychiatrist, who discovers hypnosis is the means to unlock hidden secrets. His other companion may not be a true ally. Donnie has a friend named Frank, a large bunny which only Donnie can see. When an engine falls off a plane and destroys his bedroom, Donnie is not there. Both the event, and Donnie's escape, seem to have been caused by supernatural events.

Released: 19 Jan 2001
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Rated: R
IMDb: 8 / 10
Metascore: 88 / 100
Awards: 12 wins & 17 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Donnie 239 lines, man
Dr. Thurman 72 lines, woman
Gretchen 69 lines, woman
Rose 46 lines, woman
Ms. Farmer 32 lines, woman
Ms. Pomeroy 30 lines, woman
Elizabeth 29 lines, woman
Eddie 24 lines, man
Frank 24 lines, man
Sean 22 lines, man

Full cast, 41 people

Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie Darko
Jena Malone as Gretchen Ross
James Duval as Frank
Drew Barrymore as Karen Pomeroy
Beth Grant as Kitty Farmer
Maggie Gyllenhaal as Elizabeth Darko
Mary McDonnell as Rose Darko
Holmes Osborne as Eddie Darko
Noah Wyle as Prof. Kenneth Monnitoff
Katharine Ross as Dr. Lilian Thurman
Patrick Swayze as Jim Cunningham
Daveigh Chase as Samantha Darko
Arthur Taxier as Dr. Fisher
David St. James as Bob Garland
Patience Cleveland as Roberta Sparrow / Grandma Death
Jazzie Mahannah as Joanie James
Jolene Purdy as Cherita Chen
David Moreland as Principal Cole
Kristina Malota as Susie Bates
Marina Malota as Emily Bates
Scotty Leavenworth as David
Phyllis Lyons as Anne Fisher
Gary Lundy as Sean Smith
Alex Greenwald as Seth Devlin
Stuart Stone as Ronald Fisher
Joan Blair as Mystery Woman
Seth Rogen as Ricky Danforth
Mark Hoffman as Police Officer
Jerry Trainor as Lanky Kid
Tom Tangen as Man in Red Jogging Suit
Carly Naples as Suzy Bailey
Lisa K. Wyatt as Linda Connie
Rachel Winfree as Shanda Riesman
Ashley French as Kim
Tiler Peck as Beth Farmer
Fran Kranz as Passenger
Sarah Hudson as Friend
Alison Jones as Dorky Half-Sister
Lee Weaver as Leroy
Jack Salvatore Jr. as Larry Riesman
Nancy Juvonen as Flight Attendant (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 184

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	17	6
9 to 12	9	5
13 to 16	0	0
17 to 20	0	0
21 to 24	0	5
25 to 28	0	6
29 to 32	5	7
33 to 36	13	17
37 to 40	13	13
41 to 44	9	11
45 to 48	7	16
49 to 52	11	13
53 to 56	29	30
57 to 60	2	22
61 to 64	10	10
65 to 68	25	16
69 to 72	5	1
73 to 76	1	12
77 to 80	3	11
81 to 84	9	8
85 to 88	1	0
89 to 92	13	15
93 to 96	22	8
97 to 100	9	28
101 to 104	12	10
105 to 108	3	27
109 to 112	2	2
113 to 116	1	1
117 to 120	2	20
121 to 124	3	4
125 to 128	6	7
129 to 132	16	3
133 to 136	16	12
137 to 140	31	28
141 to 144	0	4
145 to 148	10	6
149 to 152	6	5
153 to 156	1	4
157 to 160	3	23
161 to 164	0	1
165 to 168	0	0
169 to 172	0	0
173 to 176	0	0
177 to 180	0	0
181 to 184	6	5

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.

ROSE: No, a year of partying is enough. She'll be going to Harvard this fall. ELIZABETH: I haven't been accepted yet, mother. ROSE: If you think Michael Dukakis will provide for this country prior to the point when you decide to squeeze one out, then I think you're misinf… SAMANTHA: When can I squeeze one out?

ROSE: When did you stop taking your medication? ELIZABETH: Did you just call me a fuck-ass? ROSE: That's enough. ELIZABETH: You can suck a fuck.

ROSE: We will not have this kind of language at the dinner table. SAMANTHA: What's a fuck-ass?

SAMANTHA: If it fell from a plane, then what happened to the plane? ELIZABETH: They don't know, Samantha. SAMANTHA: Is there any way that we can make money from this? Couldn't we get on television if we sue the airline?

SAMANTHA: I'm telling Mom. ELIZABETH: Samantha, don't go over there.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 44 are women's.

331 lines from women, 423 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

22 women and 19 men in the cast. 16 women and 19 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 767. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 21 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 44% of the words (3,607), men 56% (4,663).

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

3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 29% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Richard Kelly (man)
Written by: Richard Kelly (man)
Produced by: Nancy Juvonen (woman), Adam Fields (man), Sean McKittrick (man)
Shot by: Steven Poster (man)
Edited by: Sam Bauer (gender not listed), Eric Strand (man)
Music by: Michael Andrews (man)
Production design by: Alec Hammond (man)
Costumes by: April Ferry (woman)
Cast by: Michelle Morris-Gertz (woman), Joseph Middleton (man)