Passes the Bechdel test
Downton Abbey
2019. Directed by Michael Engler, written by Julian Fellowes.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
21 women characters. 16 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 25 scenes out of 145. -
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.
The film
The Crawleys and their servants prepare to host King George V and Queen Mary at Downton Abbey.
- Released
- 20 Sep 2019
- Genres
- Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG
- IMDb
- 7.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 64 / 100
- Awards
- 3 wins & 19 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Mary 96 lines, woman
- Violet 90 lines, woman
- Branson 80 lines, man
- Anna 75 lines, woman
- Robert 61 lines, man
- Carson 59 lines, man
- Edith 59 lines, woman
- Thomas 52 lines, man
- Mrs Patmore 51 lines, woman
- Daisy 50 lines, woman
Full cast, 54 people
- Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley
- Laura Carmichael as Edith Crawley
- Jim Carter as Charles Carson
- Raquel Cassidy as Phyllis Baxter
- Brendan Coyle as John Bates
- Michelle Dockery as Mary Crawley
- Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates
- Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Crawley
- Kevin Doyle as Joseph Molesley
- Michael Fox as Andy
- Matthew Goode as Henry Talbot
- Harry Hadden-Paton as Bertie Hexham
- Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow
- Allen Leech as Tom Branson
- Phyllis Logan as Mrs Hughes
- Sophie McShera as Daisy Mason
- Lesley Nicol as Beryl Patmore
- Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley
- Imelda Staunton as Maud Bagshaw
- Penelope Wilton as Isobel Merton
- Stephen Campbell Moore as Major Chetwode
- Geraldine James as Queen Mary
- Alex Crisp as Buckingham Palace Footman
- Douglas Reith as Lord Merton
- Charlie Watson as Albert the Hall Boy
- David Haig as Mr Wilson
- Susan Lynch as Miss Lawton
- Max Brown as Richard Ellis
- Fifi Hart as Sybbie Branson
- Oliver Barker as George
- Zac Barker as George
- Mark Addy as Mr Bakewell
- Eva Samms as Marigold
- Karina Samms as Marigold
- Kate Phillips as Princess Mary
- Harry Livingstone as Harewood House Footman
- Alice McCarthy as Harewood House Nanny
- James Cartwright as Tony Sellick
- Andrew Havill as Lord Lascelles
- Philippe Spall as Monsieur Courbet
- Richenda Carey as Mrs Webb
- Max Hutchinson as Royal Footman
- Tom Ashley as Royal Footman
- Simon Jones as King George V
- Graeme Smiles as Royal Enquerry
- Tuppence Middleton as Lucy Smith
- Darren Strange as Detective
- John Biggins as Pub Landlord
- Perry Fitzpatrick as Chris Webster
- Daniel Millar as Policeman
- David Lonsdale as Police Sergeant
- Jonathan Cheetham as Flirtacious Gay Man
- Sarah Trevelyan as Villager (uncredited)
- Tony Dawson as Policeman (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 145
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 | 9 | 15 |
| 5 to 8 | 10 | 3 |
| 9 to 12 | 38 | 11 |
| 13 to 16 | 26 | 14 |
| 17 to 20 | 4 | 19 |
| 21 to 24 | 32 | 18 |
| 25 to 28 | 15 | 16 |
| 29 to 32 | 15 | 30 |
| 33 to 36 | 17 | 4 |
| 37 to 40 | 24 | 13 |
| 41 to 44 | 27 | 21 |
| 45 to 48 | 10 | 8 |
| 49 to 52 | 16 | 7 |
| 53 to 56 | 27 | 12 |
| 57 to 60 | 0 | 14 |
| 61 to 64 | 22 | 13 |
| 65 to 68 | 21 | 26 |
| 69 to 72 | 7 | 11 |
| 73 to 76 | 12 | 15 |
| 77 to 80 | 4 | 8 |
| 81 to 84 | 32 | 21 |
| 85 to 88 | 41 | 28 |
| 89 to 92 | 8 | 10 |
| 93 to 96 | 27 | 11 |
| 97 to 100 | 16 | 22 |
| 101 to 104 | 13 | 4 |
| 105 to 108 | 15 | 19 |
| 109 to 112 | 15 | 13 |
| 113 to 116 | 19 | 23 |
| 117 to 120 | 50 | 10 |
| 121 to 124 | 14 | 23 |
| 125 to 128 | 17 | 11 |
| 129 to 132 | 6 | 6 |
| 133 to 136 | 14 | 27 |
| 137 to 140 | 46 | 15 |
| 141 to 144 | 33 | 9 |
| 145 to 145 | 3 | 2 |
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.
MRS PATMORE: It is. Daisy take the soufflés out of the oven while I find my specs. DAISY: This country needs a shake-up.
ISOBEL: It seems rather a waste of money. VIOLET: Here we go. CORA: Isn't that what the Monarchy's for? To brighten the lives of the Nation with stateliness and glamour? ISOBEL: To quote Tennyson, "Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood."
DAISY: Not you too. I am disappointed. MRS PATMORE: Ignore her.
DAISY: I won't be waiting on any valets and lady's maids, thank you very much. ANNA: Before we get hot under the collar, let's just wait and see what they have to say.
CORA: This is nice. Princess Mary wants us for tea tomorrow at Harewood. MARY: I've got so much to do. CORA: I wonder if that means the young couple have taken over the big house?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 57 are women's.
705 lines from women, 532 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
21 women and 28 men in the cast. 16 women and 22 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 4 of 1,281.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 22 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 57% of the words (7,368), men 43% (5,455).
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
87
Two men
55
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 10 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Michael Engler (man)
- Written by
- Julian Fellowes (man)
- Produced by
- Gareth Neame (man), Julian Fellowes (man), Liz Trubridge (woman)
- Shot by
- Ben Smithard (man)
- Edited by
- Mark Day (man)
- Music by
- John Lunn (man)
- Production design by
- Donal Woods (man)
- Costumes by
- Anna Mary Scott Robbins (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 0 men, 10 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 8 men, 6 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 5 men, 4 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 6 men, 4 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 44 on average. Men: 54 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Laura Carmichael 33, Michelle Dockery 37, Joanne Froggatt 39, Raquel Cassidy 51, Elizabeth McGovern 58
Men
Michael Fox 30, Hugh Bonneville 55, Brendan Coyle 55, Kevin Doyle 59, Jim Carter 71
Exhibit H: the money
It made 9.7 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $20 million
- Box office
- $195 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 145 scenes and 1,281 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
