Passes the Bechdel test
Identity
2003. Directed by James Mangold, written by Michael Cooney.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
4 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 130. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Malcolm Rivers has been convicted as the perpetrator of several murders and is sentenced to death. An 11th-hour defense by his lawyers and psychiatrist that Malcolm is insane based on new evidence has resulted in them meeting with the prosecutors and the judge to discuss whether the verdict should be overturned. Meanwhile, on a dark night during a torrential rainstorm in the Nevada desert, a series of chain-reaction events results in several people needing to stay at an out-of-the-way motel managed by Larry. They are: ex-cop, now limo driver Ed and his client Caroline, a diva of a once-famous actress; quiet adolescent Timmy, his stepfather George, and his mother Alice, who was seriously injured when Ed accidentally ran over her as she watched George change their flat tire; prostitute Paris, who was the unwitting cause of George's flat tire; newlyweds Lou and Ginny, whose marriage is based on a lie; and Police Officer Rhodes, who was en route escorting prisoner Robert to his new institution. None can leave because of washed-out roads, all the other businesses around the motel are closed because of the storm, and all communication in and out is not functioning also because of the storm. One by one, they are murdered, the murderer leaving a calling card of a motel room key, starting with the room 10 key and working his way presumably to the room 1 key when the last person will be dead. Those still alive band somewhat together under Officer Rhodes and Ed's direction to find out which of the 11 is the murderer, and if, based on one of their theories, that they were brought to the motel by some force by the murderer as his intended targets. Whether those still alive can discover who the murderer is, discover why he has chosen to kill them, and be able to subdue him may well determine Malcolm's fate.
- Released
- 25 Apr 2003
- Genres
- Mystery, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 64 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 11 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ed 138 lines, man
- Paris 120 lines, woman
- Larry 92 lines, man
- Rhodes 80 lines, man
- Lou 48 lines, man
- Ginny 44 lines, woman
- George 41 lines, man
- Doctor 27 lines, man
- Caroline 17 lines, woman
- Maine 17 lines, man
Full cast, 22 people
- John Cusack as Ed
- Ray Liotta as Rhodes
- Amanda Peet as Paris
- John Hawkes as Larry
- Alfred Molina as Doctor
- Clea DuVall as Ginny
- John C. McGinley as George
- William Lee Scott as Lou
- Jake Busey as Robert Maine
- Pruitt Taylor Vince as Malcolm Rivers
- Rebecca De Mornay as Caroline Suzanne
- Carmen Argenziano as Defense Lawyer
- Marshall Bell as District Attorney
- Leila Kenzle as Alice
- Matt Letscher as Assistant District Attorney
- Bret Loehr as Timmy York
- Holmes Osborne as Judge
- Frederick Coffin as Detective Varole
- Joe Hart as Bailiff Jenkins
- Michael Hirsch as Naked Businessman
- Terence Bernie Hines as Bailiff
- Stuart M. Besser as Frozen Body
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 130
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 | 9 |
| 4 to 6 | 3 | 4 |
| 7 to 9 | 6 | 4 |
| 10 to 12 | 8 | 14 |
| 13 to 15 | 1 | 3 |
| 16 to 18 | 2 | 6 |
| 19 to 21 | 6 | 5 |
| 22 to 24 | 9 | 33 |
| 25 to 27 | 6 | 8 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 8 |
| 31 to 33 | 2 | 9 |
| 34 to 36 | 2 | 31 |
| 37 to 39 | 6 | 14 |
| 40 to 42 | 3 | 6 |
| 43 to 45 | 1 | 1 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 5 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 15 |
| 52 to 54 | 10 | 25 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 3 |
| 61 to 63 | 13 | 13 |
| 64 to 66 | 3 | 4 |
| 67 to 69 | 8 | 11 |
| 70 to 72 | 7 | 1 |
| 73 to 75 | 2 | 4 |
| 76 to 78 | 1 | 9 |
| 79 to 81 | 4 | 3 |
| 82 to 84 | 9 | 15 |
| 85 to 87 | 9 | 12 |
| 88 to 90 | 6 | 22 |
| 91 to 93 | 6 | 35 |
| 94 to 96 | 5 | 23 |
| 97 to 99 | 16 | 33 |
| 100 to 102 | 2 | 9 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 3 |
| 106 to 108 | 4 | 13 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 3 |
| 112 to 114 | 7 | 8 |
| 115 to 117 | 19 | 64 |
| 118 to 120 | 2 | 2 |
| 121 to 123 | 0 | 2 |
| 124 to 126 | 0 | 0 |
| 127 to 129 | 1 | 3 |
| 130 to 130 | 0 | 0 |
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.
GINNY: ee eLOU?.. PARIS: Ginny! Open the door!
GINNY: Paris. Don’t. ...Don’t go. PARIS: Honey, There’s something I gotta get from my room. ...It’s very important to me.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 28 are women's.
189 lines from women, 495 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
4 women and 18 men in the cast. 5 women and 19 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 16 of 703.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 49 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 26% of the words (2,149), men 74% (6,129). Women have 28% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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
6
Two men
58
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 44% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- James Mangold (man)
- Written by
- Michael Cooney (man), James Mangold (man)
- Produced by
- Cathy Konrad (woman)
- Shot by
- Phedon Papamichael (man)
- Edited by
- David Brenner (man)
- Music by
- Alan Silvestri (man)
- Production design by
- Mark Friedberg (man)
- Costumes by
- Arianne Phillips (woman)
- Cast by
- Sarah Katzman (woman), Lisa Beach (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
5 women, 6 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 1 men, 5 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 1 men
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men
-
Visual Effects
2 women, 1 men
-
Writing
1 women, 2 men
-
Sound
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 28 on average. Men: 40 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Clea DuVall 25, Amanda Peet 31
Men
William Lee Scott 29, Jake Busey 31, John Cusack 36, Pruitt Taylor Vince 42, John Hawkes 43, John C. McGinley 43, Ray Liotta 48, Alfred Molina 49
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.2 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $28 million
- Box office
- $90.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 130 scenes and 703 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
