Fails the Bechdel test

Kill Your Darlings

Name: Kill Your Darlings
Released: 2014

2014. Directed by John Krokidas, written by Austin Bunn and John Krokidas.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
12 women characters. 6 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 the early 1940s, Allen Ginsberg is an English major at Columbia University, only to learn more than he bargained for. Dissatisfied by the orthodox attitudes of the school, Allen finds himself drawn to iconoclastic colleagues like Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. Together, this gang would explore bold new literary ideas that would challenge the sensibilities of their time as the future Beat Generation. However, for all their creativity, their very appetites and choices lead to more serious transgressions that would mark their lives forever.

Released: 18 Mar 2014
Genres: Biography, Drama, Romance
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.4 / 10
Metascore: 65 / 100
Awards: 5 wins & 13 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Allen 199 lines, man
Lucien 167 lines, man
Jack 51 lines, man
David 49 lines, man
Bill 42 lines, man
Naomi 24 lines, woman
Edie 20 lines, woman
Louis 17 lines, man
Professor Steeves 16 lines, man
Gwendolyn 15 lines, woman

Full cast, 36 people

Daniel Radcliffe as Allen Ginsberg
Dane DeHaan as Lucien Carr
Michael C. Hall as David Kammerer
Jack Huston as Jack Kerouac
Ben Foster as William Burroughs
David Cross as Louis Ginsberg
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Naomi Ginsberg
Elizabeth Olsen as Edie Parker
John Cullum as Professor Steeves
Brenda Wehle as Permissions Librarian
Erin Darke as Gwendolyn
Craig Chester as Businessman
Lenore Harris as DA Secretary
Mark Ethan as Campus Guard
Zach Appelman as Luke Detweiler
David Rasche as Dean
Quinlan Corbett as Billeting Officer
Dawn Newman as Jazz Singer
Clancy O'Connor as Tour Guide
Jon DeVries as Mr. Burroughs
Leslie Meisel as Edith Cohen
Sarah Hollis as Harlem Club Patron
Nicole Signore as Page
Olen Holm as Sailor
Michael Cavadias as Ray Conklin
Kyra Sedgwick as Marian Carr (uncredited)
Laura Obiols as Kristina Laakson (uncredited)
Colin Michael Walker as Columbia Classmate (uncredited)
Kevyn Settle as Norman (uncredited)
Martin Pfefferkorn as 1940s Prisoner (uncredited)
Anna Kuchma as Interracial Couple (uncredited)
Sean Grady as Barfly (uncredited)
Matt Giroveanu as Luke's Friend #1 (uncredited)
Nick Diamantis as Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Jonathan Cantor as Ogden Nash (uncredited)
Ranardo Domeico Grays as Jazz Club Patron (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 167

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 4	0	12
5 to 8	6	23
9 to 12	3	32
13 to 16	3	26
17 to 20	4	6
21 to 24	0	6
25 to 28	0	66
29 to 32	4	21
33 to 36	0	8
37 to 40	0	7
41 to 44	0	9
45 to 48	0	14
49 to 52	0	22
53 to 56	0	4
57 to 60	0	12
61 to 64	10	61
65 to 68	2	26
69 to 72	8	15
73 to 76	9	8
77 to 80	0	1
81 to 84	0	0
85 to 88	0	11
89 to 92	0	0
93 to 96	0	3
97 to 100	5	52
101 to 104	0	8
105 to 108	0	29
109 to 112	1	5
113 to 116	0	4
117 to 120	0	2
121 to 124	0	1
125 to 128	2	4
129 to 132	2	12
133 to 136	0	10
137 to 140	0	26
141 to 144	0	7
145 to 148	0	1
149 to 152	7	21
153 to 156	1	11
157 to 160	0	0
161 to 164	2	7
165 to 167	0	6

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, 10 are women's.

69 lines from women, 599 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

12 women and 23 men in the cast. 6 women and 16 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 22 of 688. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 100 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 10% of the words (508), men 90% (4,532).

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

3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: John Krokidas (man)
Written by: Austin Bunn (gender not listed), John Krokidas (man)
Story by: Austin Bunn (gender not listed)
Produced by: Michael Benaroya (man), Christine Vachon (woman), Rose Ganguzza (woman), John Krokidas (man)
Shot by: Reed Morano (woman)
Edited by: Brian A. Kates (man)
Music by: Nico Muhly (man)
Production design by: Stephen H. Carter (man)
Costumes by: Christopher Peterson (man)