Fails the Bechdel test

Frost/Nixon

Name: Frost/Nixon
Released: 2009

2009. Directed by Ron Howard, written by Peter Morgan.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
12 women characters. 3 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

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

The film

Writer Peter Morgan's legendary battle between Richard Nixon, the disgraced president with a legacy to save, and David Frost, a jet-setting television personality with a name to make, in the story of the historic encounter that changed both their lives. For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans (as well as a $600,000 fee). Likewise, Frost's team harbored doubts about their boss' ability to hold his own. But as cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.

Released: 23 Jan 2009
Genres: Biography, Drama, History
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.6 / 10
Metascore: 80 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 5 Oscars. 24 wins & 81 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Frost 236 lines, man
Nixon 200 lines, man
Birt 86 lines, man
Reston 73 lines, man
Brennan 47 lines, man
Caroline 47 lines, woman
Zelnick 45 lines, man
Swifty 27 lines, man
Director 8 lines, man
Davis 5 lines, man

Full cast, 50 people

Frank Langella as Richard Nixon
Michael Sheen as David Frost
Kevin Bacon as Jack Brennan
Rebecca Hall as Caroline Cushing
Toby Jones as Swifty Lazar
Matthew Macfadyen as John Birt
Oliver Platt as Bob Zelnick
Sam Rockwell as James Reston Jr.
Clint Howard as Lloyd Davis
Patty McCormack as Pat Nixon
Andy Milder as Frank Gannon
Kate Jennings Grant as Diane Sawyer
Eloy Casados as Manolo Sanchez
Gabriel Jarret as Ken Khachigian
Jim Meskimen as Ray Price
Geoffrey Blake as Interview Director
Rance Howard as Ollie
Gavin Grazer as White House Director
Simon James as Frost Show Director
Jay White as Neil Diamond
Wil Albert as Sammy Cahn
Keith MacKechnie as Marv Minoff
Penny L. Moore as Lady with Dachshund
Janneke Williamson as Frost's Female Assistant
David Ross Paterson as Bird TV Show Presenter
Jennifer Hanley as Makeup Woman
Robert Pastoriza as Interview Cameraman
Louie Mejia as Interview Cameraman
Kevin P. Kearns as Fan at Airport
David Kelsey as Smith House Reporter
James Ritz as Smith House Reporter
Pete Rockwell as Smith House Reporter
Ned Vaughn as Secret Serviceman
Simone Kessell as Airport Check-In Woman
BP Major as Australian Stage Manager (as Ben Pauley)
Noah Craft as Australian Stage Director
Talley Singer as Stewardess (as Taylor Singer)
Kaine Bennett Charleston as Sydney Assistant Director
Gregory Alpert as White House Cinematographer
Kimberly Robin as Ma Maison Girl
Michelle Manhart as Disco Girl
Steve Kehela as Premiere Reporter
Antony Acker as Premiere Reporter
John Kerry as Man at Disco
Jenn Gotzon Chandler as Tricia Nixon
Googy Gress as Network Executive
Marc McClure as Network Executive
Joe Spano as Network Executive
Yvette Rachelle as Farrah Fawcett
Mark Simich as Hugh Hefner

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 153

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	11
5 to 8	0	5
9 to 12	0	4
13 to 16	0	14
17 to 20	0	10
21 to 24	0	10
25 to 28	0	18
29 to 32	0	7
33 to 36	0	20
37 to 40	1	14
41 to 44	0	20
45 to 48	31	31
49 to 52	2	33
53 to 56	2	30
57 to 60	0	42
61 to 64	0	29
65 to 68	0	4
69 to 72	3	74
73 to 76	1	16
77 to 80	0	36
81 to 84	0	8
85 to 88	0	17
89 to 92	0	19
93 to 96	0	26
97 to 100	2	4
101 to 104	1	21
105 to 108	0	9
109 to 112	0	17
113 to 116	5	24
117 to 120	6	38
121 to 124	0	7
125 to 128	0	24
129 to 132	0	24
133 to 136	0	19
137 to 140	0	12
141 to 144	0	5
145 to 148	0	8
149 to 152	0	38
153 to 153	0	0

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, 7 are women's.

54 lines from women, 748 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

12 women and 32 men in the cast. 3 women and 19 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 112 of 815. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 141 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 4% of the words (616), men 96% (13,233). Women have 7% 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

2 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 38% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Ron Howard (man)
Written by: Peter Morgan (man)
Produced by: Eric Fellner (man), Brian Grazer (man), Ron Howard (man), Tim Bevan (man)
Shot by: Salvatore Totino (man)
Edited by: Daniel P. Hanley (man), Mike Hill (man)
Music by: Hans Zimmer (man)
Production design by: Michael Corenblith (man)
Costumes by: Daniel Orlandi (man)
Cast by: Jane Jenkins (woman), Janet Hirshenson (woman)