Fails the Bechdel test
Gran Torino
2009. Directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Nick Schenk and Dave Johannson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
9 women characters. 4 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors. He is a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Thao Lor (Bee Vang), a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.
- Released
- 09 Jan 2009
- Genres
- Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 8.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 73 / 100
- Awards
- 21 wins & 23 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Walt 450 lines, man
- Tao 157 lines, man
- Sue 99 lines, woman
- Father Janovich 66 lines, man
- Mitch 54 lines, man
- Smokie 40 lines
- Spider 22 lines, man
- Barber 17 lines, man
- Karen 17 lines, woman
- Tall Black Guy 16 lines, man
Full cast, 52 people
- Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski
- Christopher Carley as Father Janovich
- Bee Vang as Thao
- Ahney Her as Sue
- Brian Haley as Mitch Kowalski
- Geraldine Hughes as Karen Kowalski
- Dreama Walker as Ashley Kowalski
- Brian Howe as Steve Kowalski
- John Carroll Lynch as Barber Martin
- William Hill as Tim Kennedy
- Brooke Chia Thao as Vu
- Chee Thao as Grandma
- Choua Kue as Youa
- Scott Eastwood as Trey
- Xia Soua Chang as Kor Khue
- Sonny Vue as Smokie
- Doua Moua as Spider
- Greg Trzaskoma as Bartender
- John Johns as Al
- Davis Gloff as Darrell
- Thomas D. Mahard as Mel
- Sarah Neubauer as Paralegal
- Cory Hardrict as Duke
- Nana Gbewonyo as Monk
- Arthur Cartwright as Prez
- Austin Douglas Smith as Daniel Kowalski
- Conor Liam Callaghan as David Kowalski
- Michael E. Kurowski as Josh Kowalski
- Julia Ho as Dr. Chu
- Maykao K. Lytongpao as Gee
- Carlos Guadarrama as Head Latino
- Andrew Tamez-Hull as Latino Gangbanger
- Ramon Camacho as Latino Gangbanger
- Antonio Mireles as Latino Gangbanger
- Ia Vue Yang as Hmong Flower Woman
- Zoua Kue as Hmong Flower Woman
- Elvis Thao as Hmong Gangbanger
- Jerry Lee as Hmong Gangbanger
- Lee Mong Vang as Hmong Gangbanger
- Tru Hang as Hmong Grandfather
- Alice Lor as Hmong Granddaughter
- Tong Pao Kue as Hmong Husband
- Douacha Ly as Hmong Man
- Parng D. Yarng as Hmong Neighbor
- Nelly Yang Sao Yia as Hmong Wife
- Marty Bufalini as Lawyer
- My-Ishia Cason-Brown as Muslim Receptionist
- Clint Ward as Officer
- Stephen Kue as Officer Chang
- Rochelle Winter as Waitress
- Claudia Rodgers as White Woman Neighbor
- Vincent Bonasso as Tailor
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 11% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 111
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 3 | 0 | 13 |
| 4 to 6 | 5 | 10 |
| 7 to 9 | 6 | 26 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 7 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 16 to 18 | 5 | 19 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 35 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 20 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 1 |
| 28 to 30 | 7 | 12 |
| 31 to 33 | 8 | 30 |
| 34 to 36 | 4 | 37 |
| 37 to 39 | 17 | 26 |
| 40 to 42 | 16 | 19 |
| 43 to 45 | 12 | 15 |
| 46 to 48 | 6 | 32 |
| 49 to 51 | 5 | 21 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 19 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 1 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 5 |
| 61 to 63 | 5 | 22 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 11 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 32 |
| 70 to 72 | 2 | 41 |
| 73 to 75 | 14 | 66 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 74 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 20 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 18 |
| 85 to 87 | 7 | 22 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 16 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 41 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 7 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 27 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 36 |
| 103 to 105 | 1 | 13 |
| 106 to 108 | 6 | 17 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 1 |
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, 13 are women's.
126 lines from women, 827 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
9 women and 15 men in the cast. 4 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 25 of 1,071.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 173 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 12% of the words (1,643), men 88% (11,960). Women have 13% 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
3
Two men
58
Exhibit E: behind the camera
4 of the 17 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 19% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Clint Eastwood (man)
- Written by
- Nick Schenk (man)
- Story by
- Nick Schenk (man), Dave Johannson (gender not listed)
- Produced by
- Clint Eastwood (man), Bill Gerber (man), Robert Lorenz (man)
- Shot by
- Tom Stern (man)
- Edited by
- Joel Cox (man), Gary D. Roach (man)
- Music by
- Kyle Eastwood (man), Michael Stevens (gender not listed)
- Production design by
- James J. Murakami (man)
- Costumes by
- Deborah Hopper (woman)
- Cast by
- Kathy Mooney (woman), Janet Pound (woman), Ellen Chenoweth (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
5 women, 16 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 8 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 2 men, 5 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 25 on average. Men: 45 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Ahney Her 16, Dreama Walker 22, Geraldine Hughes 38
Men
Bee Vang 17, Christopher Carley 30, Brian Haley 45, John Carroll Lynch 45, William Hill 47, Brian Howe 50, Clint Eastwood 78
Exhibit G: the money
It made 8.2 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $33 million
- Box office
- $270 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 111 scenes and 1,071 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
