Fails the Bechdel test

Hell or High Water

Name: Hell or High Water
Released: 2016

2016. Directed by David Mackenzie, written by Taylor Sheridan.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
13 women characters. 11 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

In West Texas, two brothers go on a bank-robbing rampage. They are targeting the branches of one bank in particular, The Texas Midland Bank. This bank is about to foreclose on the mortgage on their ranch and claim the property, and robbing the bank to pay its own loan seems appropriate. On the trail of the brothers is a Texas Ranger, Marcus Hamilton, with only a few weeks to retirement.

Released: 26 Aug 2016
Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.6 / 10
Metascore: 88 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 4 Oscars. 47 wins & 174 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Tanner 205 lines, man
Toby 199 lines, man
Marcus 180 lines, man
Parker 72 lines, man
Ranger 19 lines, man
Debbie 17 lines, woman
Jenny Ann 17 lines, woman
Elsie 14 lines, woman
Hooker 14 lines
Loan Officer 14 lines, man

Full cast, 45 people

Jeff Bridges as Marcus Hamilton
Chris Pine as Toby Howard
Ben Foster as Tanner Howard
Gil Birmingham as Alberto Parker
Marin Ireland as Debbie Howard
Kevin Rankin as Billy Rayburn
Dale Dickey as Elsie
William Sterchi as Mr. Clauson
Kristin K. Berg as Olney Teller
Katy Mixon as Jenny Ann
Buck Taylor as Old Man
Keith Meriweather as Rancher
Amber Midthunder as Natalie Martinez
Jackamoe Buzzell as Archer City Deputy
Joe Berryman as Bank Manager
Taylor Sheridan as Cowboy
Howard Ferguson Jr. as Vernon PD Officer
Debrianna Mansini as Vernon Diner Waitress
Paul Howard Smith as Old Timer
Nathaniel Augustson as Gas Station Thug #1
Ariel Holmes as Gas Station Thug #2
Marie A.K. McMaster as Casino Window Teller
Jim Burleson as Dealer
Gregory Cruz as Bear
Melanie Papalia as Emily
Kim Gleason as Casino Window Teller #2
Alma Sisneros as Clerk
Margaret Bowman as Waitress
Ivan Brutsche as Buster
John-Paul Howard as Justin Howard
Kevin Wiggins as Local
Dylan Kenin as Road Block Trooper
Nicole Brady as Reporter
Dick Christie as Loan Officer
Heidi Sulzman as Ranger Margaret
Christopher W. Garcia as Randy Howard
Richard Beal as Casino Patron (uncredited)
Crystal Gonzales as Woman at Casino (uncredited)
Ricky Lee as Casino Pit Boss (uncredited)
Lora Martinez-Cunningham as Neighbor (uncredited)
Martin Palmer as Colman Resident (uncredited)
Terry Dale Parks as Ranger (uncredited)
J. Nathan Simmons as Casino Patron (uncredited)
Danny Winn as Trooper Bruno (uncredited)
Rick Anglada as Texas Trooper (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 83

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 2	9	0
3 to 4	0	2
5 to 6	0	12
7 to 8	3	21
9 to 10	0	24
11 to 12	0	0
13 to 14	0	17
15 to 16	0	16
17 to 18	5	58
19 to 20	6	29
21 to 22	6	6
23 to 24	1	6
25 to 26	0	3
27 to 28	0	35
29 to 30	0	10
31 to 32	0	14
33 to 34	20	46
35 to 36	6	29
37 to 38	0	32
39 to 40	2	7
41 to 42	0	28
43 to 44	2	23
45 to 46	0	3
47 to 48	2	6
49 to 50	0	25
51 to 52	21	22
53 to 54	0	37
55 to 56	0	36
57 to 58	0	12
59 to 60	0	9
61 to 62	0	10
63 to 64	0	11
65 to 66	0	0
67 to 68	0	11
69 to 70	0	9
71 to 72	0	9
73 to 74	0	22
75 to 76	0	17
77 to 78	7	3
79 to 80	3	32
81 to 82	0	35
83 to 83	3	40

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.

96 lines from women, 767 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

13 women and 28 men in the cast. 11 women and 18 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 190 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 11% of the words (944), men 89% (7,993).

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, 20% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: David Mackenzie (man)
Written by: Taylor Sheridan (man)
Produced by: Peter Berg (man), Carla Hacken (woman), Sidney Kimmel (man), Julie Yorn (woman)
Shot by: Giles Nuttgens (man)
Edited by: Jake Roberts (man)
Music by: Nick Cave (man), Warren Ellis (man)
Production design by: Tom Duffield (man)
Costumes by: Malgosia Turzanska (woman)
Cast by: Jo Edna Boldin (woman), Richard Hicks (man)