Passes the Bechdel test

I Am Sam

Name: I Am Sam
Released: 2002

2002. Directed by Jessie Nelson, written by Kristine Johnson and Jessie Nelson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
20 women characters. 14 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 8 scenes out of 142.
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

Sam Dawson has the mental capacity of a 7 year old. He has a daughter whose homeless mother has abandoned them both. Sam's difficulties become problematic, and his daughter is taken away. Sam finds a lawyer who handles the case pro bono. In the process, Sam teaches her a great deal about love and whether it's really all needed.

Released: 25 Jan 2002
Genres: Drama
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.6 / 10
Metascore: 28 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 8 wins & 12 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Sam 315 lines, man
Rita 212 lines, woman
Lucy 102 lines, woman
Turner 64 lines, man
Ifty 30 lines, man
Annie 27 lines, woman
Robert 26 lines, man
Randy 24 lines, woman
Margaret Brown 22 lines, woman
Brad 18 lines, man

Full cast, 40 people

Sean Penn as Sam Dawson
Michelle Pfeiffer as Rita Harrison Williams
Dianne Wiest as Annie Cassell
Dakota Fanning as Lucy Diamond Dawson
Richard Schiff as Mr. Turner
Loretta Devine as Margaret Calgrove
Marin Hinkle as Patricia
Laura Dern as Randy Carpenter
Brad Silverman as Brad
Joseph Rosenberg as Joe
Stanley DeSantis as Robert
Doug Hutchison as Ifty
Bobby Cooper as George
Mary Steenburgen as Dr. Blake
Eileen Ryan as Estelle Dawson
Michael B. Silver as Dr. Jaslow
Rosalind Chao as Lily
Ken Jenkins as Judge Philip McNeily
Wendy Phillips as Miss Wright
Mason Lucero as Conner Rhodes
Scott Paulin as Duncan Rhodes
Kit McDonough as Ms. Davis
Kimberly Scott as Gertie
Chase MacKenzie Bebak as Willy Harrison
Rafer Weigel as Bruce
Emiko Parise as Nurse
Pamela Dunlap as Grace
Brent Spiner as Shoe Saleman
David Nathan Schwartz as Principal
Kathleen Robertson as Big Boy Waitress
Karen Bankhead as Rita's Colleague
Janet Adderley as Obnoxious Mom
Katie McGloin as Cristina
Steven Maines as Collin
Dennis Fanning as Vice Cop
David Poynter as Cafeteria Worker
R. D. Call as Cop at Park
Elle Fanning as Lucy (2 Years Old)
Russ Fega as Starbucks Angry Man
Molly Gordon as Callie

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 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 142

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	12
4 to 6	5	6
7 to 9	0	3
10 to 12	2	2
13 to 15	6	21
16 to 18	0	1
19 to 21	8	3
22 to 24	2	2
25 to 27	11	12
28 to 30	2	35
31 to 33	18	13
34 to 36	15	16
37 to 39	15	13
40 to 42	5	18
43 to 45	34	32
46 to 48	10	12
49 to 51	4	0
52 to 54	22	20
55 to 57	1	19
58 to 60	5	6
61 to 63	6	4
64 to 66	5	4
67 to 69	36	38
70 to 72	11	3
73 to 75	6	11
76 to 78	29	12
79 to 81	7	13
82 to 84	19	16
85 to 87	8	3
88 to 90	18	3
91 to 93	21	18
94 to 96	0	6
97 to 99	5	8
100 to 102	14	57
103 to 105	0	0
106 to 108	5	3
109 to 111	2	0
112 to 114	6	0
115 to 117	19	20
118 to 120	9	4
121 to 123	16	20
124 to 126	8	5
127 to 129	0	0
130 to 132	3	4
133 to 135	0	0
136 to 138	5	0
139 to 141	14	10
142 to 142	2	5

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.

ANNIE: I'm not a baby-sitter. I'm too busy. LUCY: Annie, Annie, Annie... ANNIE: Did you teach her that?

MISS WRIGHT: Lucy, your turn. Start where Sara left off...Lucy? LUCY: I can't. MISS WRIGHT: Sure you can. LUCY: "They perched in sisisisi..."

PATRICIA: Danny on Line 2. RITA: Danny? Hi. Could we possibly talk about this when I get home. Danny? Danny? C'mon. You're not gonna talk to me? I bought you a bag of your f… RITA: Danny? RITA: Danny?

RITA: No, it's a case. Sort of a pro-bono thing. RITA: What's that supposed to mean? PATRICIA: Nothing. A cracker went down the wrong pipe. RITA: You think I don't pro-bono?..I can do pro-bono.. I can do Goddamn pro-bono.. where the hell are my keys..hold the door!

ANNIE: Tell them to take me quickly. RITA: Give me one minute with the judge.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 46 are women's.

439 lines from women, 513 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

20 women and 20 men in the cast. 14 women and 12 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 14 of 984. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 27 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 47% of the words (5,544), men 53% (6,152). Women have 46% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.

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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

7 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 39% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Jessie Nelson (woman)
Written by: Kristine Johnson (woman), Jessie Nelson (woman)
Produced by: Edward Zwick (man), Jessie Nelson (woman), Richard Solomon (man), Marshall Herskovitz (man)
Shot by: Elliot Davis (man)
Edited by: Richard Chew (man)
Music by: John Powell (man)
Production design by: Aaron Osborne (man)
Costumes by: Susie DeSanto (woman)
Cast by: Barbara Cohen (woman), Mary Gail Artz (woman)