Fails the Bechdel test

Frequency

Name: Frequency
Released: 2000

2000. Directed by Gregory Hoblit, written by Toby Emmerich.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
11 women characters. 5 of them speak.
No 2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.

The film

The northern lights allows a New York City firefighter to communicate with his son 30 years in the future via HAM radio. The son uses this opportunity to warn the father of his impending death in a warehouse fire, and manages to save his life. However, what he does not realize is that changing history has triggered a new set of tragic events, including the murder of his mother. The two men must now work together, 30 years apart, to find the murderer before he strikes so that they can change history--again.

Released: 28 Apr 2000
Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.4 / 10
Metascore: 67 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 8 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Frank 266 lines, man
John 237 lines, man
Satch 66 lines, man
Julia 59 lines, woman
Shepard 37 lines, man
Gordo 31 lines, man
Butch 13 lines, man
Gibson 13 lines, man
Johnny 10 lines, man
Gordy Jr 9 lines, man

Full cast, 43 people

Dennis Quaid as Frank Sullivan
Jim Caviezel as John Sullivan
Shawn Doyle as Jack Shepard
Elizabeth Mitchell as Julia Sullivan
Andre Braugher as Satch DeLeon
Noah Emmerich as Gordo Hersch
Melissa Errico as Samantha Thomas
Jordan Bridges as Graham Gibson
Daniel Henson as Johnny Sullivan (6 Years)
Michael Cera as Gordy Jr. (10 Years)
Stephen Joffe as Gordo Hersch (8 Years)
Peter MacNeill as Butch Foster
Marin Hinkle as Sissy Clark
Jack McCormack as Commander Butch O'Connell
Richard Sali as Chuck Hayes
Nesbitt Blaisdell as Fred Shepard
Joan Heney as Laura Shepard
Jessica Meyer as Teenage Runaway
Kirsten Bishop as Carrie Reynolds
Rocco Sisto as Daryl Simpson
Rosemary De Angelis as Mrs. Finelli
John Di Benedetto as Con Ed Supervisor
Terry Serpico as Con Ed Worker #1
Brian Smyj as Con Ed Worker #2
Nicole Brier as Stoned Teenage Girl
Brantley Bush as Young Intern
David Huband as Lounge Bartender
Chuck Margiotta as Pedestal Man Gino
Karen Glave as Lanni DeLeon
Frank McAnulty as Desk Sergeant
Derek Aasland as Stoned Man #1
Jim McAleese as Cozy Bartender
Catherine Burdon as Young Woman #1
Jennifer Baxter as Young Woman #2
Desmond Campbell as Forensic Tech Hector
Danny Johnson as Uniformed Cop #1
Colm Magner as Uniformed Cop #2
Brigitte Kingsley as Bar Waitress
Tucker Robin as Frank Jr.
Melissa Fitzgerald as Linda Hersch
Timothy Brown as Roof Man Billy
Dick Cavett as Himself
Brian Greene as Himself

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 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 210

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 5	0	24
6 to 10	0	14
11 to 15	0	0
16 to 20	10	12
21 to 25	1	8
26 to 30	4	4
31 to 35	0	24
36 to 40	5	37
41 to 45	0	5
46 to 50	9	30
51 to 55	0	86
56 to 60	3	19
61 to 65	0	11
66 to 70	0	6
71 to 75	0	5
76 to 80	0	36
81 to 85	12	28
86 to 90	0	0
91 to 95	4	17
96 to 100	4	46
101 to 105	4	13
106 to 110	16	61
111 to 115	5	13
116 to 120	3	19
121 to 125	3	11
126 to 130	0	8
131 to 135	1	39
136 to 140	0	52
141 to 145	0	39
146 to 150	0	13
151 to 155	0	3
156 to 160	1	3
161 to 165	0	0
166 to 170	1	4
171 to 175	0	9
176 to 180	0	0
181 to 185	2	11
186 to 190	0	9
191 to 195	0	3
196 to 200	1	1
201 to 205	0	1
206 to 210	0	9

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, 11 are women's.

89 lines from women, 733 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

11 women and 27 men in the cast. 5 women and 21 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 42 of 848. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 125 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 9% of the words (667), men 91% (6,444). Women have 11% 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

4 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Gregory Hoblit (man)
Written by: Toby Emmerich (man)
Produced by: Hawk Koch (man), Bill Carraro (man), Toby Emmerich (man), Gregory Hoblit (man)
Shot by: Alar Kivilo (man)
Edited by: David Rosenbloom (man)
Music by: Michael Kamen (man)
Production design by: Paul Eads (man)
Costumes by: Elisabetta Beraldo (woman)
Cast by: Amanda Mackey (woman), Cathy Sandrich Gelfond (woman), Robin D. Cook (woman)