Does it pass? bechdel.io

Passes the Bechdel test

Inception

2010. Directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Christopher Nolan.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    12 women characters. 3 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 1 scene out of 286.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.

Poster for Inception

The film

Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible, inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea, but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.

Released
16 Jul 2010
Genres
Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
8.8 / 10
Metascore
74 / 100
Awards
Won 4 Oscars. 160 wins & 220 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Cobb 471 lines, man
  2. Ariadne 175 lines, woman
  3. Arthur 139 lines, man
  4. Eames 97 lines, man
  5. Saito 81 lines, man
  6. Fischer 68 lines, man
  7. Mal 66 lines, woman
  8. Yusuf 48 lines, man
  9. Browning 28 lines, man
  10. Miles 21 lines, man
Full cast, 52 people
  • Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb
  • Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur
  • Ken Watanabe as Saito
  • Tom Hardy as Eames
  • Elliot Page as Ariadne
  • Dileep Rao as Yusuf
  • Cillian Murphy as Robert Fischer, Jr.
  • Tom Berenger as Peter Browning
  • Marion Cotillard as Mal Cobb
  • Pete Postlethwaite as Maurice Fischer
  • Michael Caine as Stephen Miles
  • Lukas Haas as Nash
  • Talulah Riley as Blonde
  • Tohoru Masamune as Japanese Security Guard
  • Taylor Geare as Phillipa (5 years)
  • Claire Geare as Phillipa (3 years)
  • Johnathan Geare as James (3 years)
  • Yuji Okumoto as Saito's Attendant
  • Earl Cameron as Elderly Bald Man
  • Ryan Hayward as Lawyer
  • Miranda Nolan as Flight Attendant
  • Russ Fega as Cab Driver
  • Tim Kelleher as Thin Man
  • Coralie Dedykere as Bridge Sub Con
  • Silvie Laguna as Bridge Sub Con
  • Virgile Bramly as Bridge Sub Con
  • Nicolas Clerc as Bridge Sub Con
  • Jean-Michel Dagory as Bridge Sub Con
  • Marc Raducci as Lobby Sub Con
  • Tai-Li Lee as Tadashi
  • Magnus Nolan as James (20 months)
  • Helena Cullinan as Penrose Sub Con
  • Mark Fleischmann as Penrose Sub Con
  • Shelley Lang as Penrose Sub Con
  • Adam Cole as Bar Sub Con
  • Jack Murray as Bar Sub Con
  • Kraig Thornber as Bar Sub Con
  • Angela Nathenson as Bar Sub Con
  • Natasha Beaumont as Bar Sub Con
  • Carl Gilliard as Lobby Sub Con
  • Jill Maddrell as Lobby Sub Con
  • Alex Lombard as Lobby Sub Con
  • Nicole Pulliam as Lobby Sub Con
  • Peter Basham as Fischer's Jet Captain
  • Michael Gaston as Immigration Officer
  • Felix Scott as Businessman
  • Andrew Pleavin as Businessman
  • Lisa Reynolds as Private Nurse
  • Jason Tendell as Fischer's Driver
  • Jack Gilroy as Old Cobb
  • Shannon Welles as Old Mal
  • Daniel Girondeaud as Bridge Sub Con

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 6 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 286

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 6026
7 to 12712
13 to 1858
19 to 2402
25 to 3002
31 to 36016
37 to 42011
43 to 48242
49 to 54052
55 to 60451
61 to 663345
67 to 72522
73 to 781257
79 to 84057
85 to 901434
91 to 96036
97 to 102328
103 to 10805
109 to 1142320
115 to 120722
121 to 12607
127 to 132667
133 to 1381343
139 to 1441716
145 to 150860
151 to 156616
157 to 162010
163 to 16818
169 to 174325
175 to 180555
181 to 18600
187 to 19203
193 to 198411
199 to 20457
205 to 21001
211 to 21618
217 to 22248
223 to 22813
229 to 23453
235 to 240815
241 to 2461013
247 to 2521923
253 to 25852
259 to 26467
265 to 27004
271 to 27646
277 to 28235
283 to 286211

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
MAL: What are you doing here? ARIADNE: My name is- MAL: I know who you are. What are you doing here? ARIADNE: I don't know. Trying to understand.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 20 are women's.

251 lines from women, 985 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

12 women and 32 men in the cast. 3 women and 13 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 32 of 1,257. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 101 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 18% of the words (2,041), men 82% (9,438). Women have 20% 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

Exhibit F: behind the camera

1 of the 12 people in these jobs is a woman. Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Christopher Nolan (man)
Written by
Christopher Nolan (man)
Produced by
Christopher Nolan (man), Emma Thomas (woman), Kanjiro Sakura (man), Yoshikuni Taki (gender not listed)
Shot by
Wally Pfister (man)
Edited by
Lee Smith (man)
Music by
Hans Zimmer (man)
Production design by
Guy Hendrix Dyas (man)
Costumes by
Jeffrey Kurland (man)
Cast by
John Papsidera (man)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    22 women, 86 men, 130 not listed

  • Production

    10 women, 24 men, 80 not listed

  • Visual Effects

    2 women, 15 men, 75 not listed

  • Art

    5 women, 24 men, 41 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    13 women, 7 men, 33 not listed

  • Camera

    1 women, 16 men, 35 not listed

  • Sound

    6 women, 25 men, 13 not listed

  • Lighting

    1 women, 8 men, 26 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 34 on average. Men: 43 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Marion Cotillard 34

Men

Joseph Gordon-Levitt 29, Tom Hardy 32, Cillian Murphy 34, Leonardo DiCaprio 35, Dileep Rao 36, Ken Watanabe 50, Tom Berenger 61, Pete Postlethwaite 64

Exhibit H: the money

It made 5.2 times what it cost.

Budget
$160 million
Box office
$839 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 286 scenes and 1,257 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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