Passes the Bechdel test

Last Chance Harvey

Name: Last Chance Harvey
Released: 2009

2009. Directed by Joel Hopkins, written by Joel Hopkins.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
14 women characters. 10 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 133.
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

Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is in London for the weekend for his daughter Susan's (Liane Balaban's) wedding. His work in New York City preoccupies him: he writes music for ads, and he knows his boss Marvin (Richard Schiff) is pushing him aside for younger talent. With family, he's also on the sidelines - long divorced, his wife Jean (Kathy Baker) remarried, her husband Brian (James Brolin) is closer to his daughter than him. His path crosses that of Kate Walker (Dame Emma Thompson), unmarried, her life becoming that of a spinster, set up by friends on blind dates leading nowhere. After Harvey's no good terrible day, he talks to Kate at a Heathrow bar. She's not interested. Where can this conversation lead? Back at his daughter's reception, Brian rises to give a toast.

Released: 16 Jan 2009
Genres: Drama, Romance
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.6 / 10
Metascore: 57 / 100
Awards: 1 win & 3 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Harvey 321 lines, man
Kate 213 lines, woman
Susan 34 lines, woman
Oonagh 32 lines, woman
Marvin 23 lines, man
Maggie 18 lines, woman
Jean 14 lines, woman
Simon 14 lines, man
Brian 8 lines, man
Pete 8 lines

Full cast, 36 people

Dustin Hoffman as Harvey Shine
Emma Thompson as Kate Walker
Eileen Atkins as Maggie Walker
Kathy Baker as Jean
Liane Balaban as Susan Shine Wright
Daniel Lapaine as Scott Wright
James Brolin as Brian
Richard Schiff as Marvin
Wendy Mae Brown as Aggie
Bronagh Gallagher as Oonagh
Jeremy Sheffield as Matt
Patrick Baladi as Simon
Adam James as Josh Hillman
Michael Landes as Peter Turner
Jamie Sives as Doctor Butler
Angela Griffin as Melissa
Charlotte Lucas as Gwen
Gaia Wise as Girl at Wedding
Imogen Byron as Niece at Wedding
Ginny Holder as Nurse
Mickey Sumner as Friend of the Bride
Tolula Adeyemi as Monique the Jazz Singer
Jemma Bolt as Sarah
Robert Jezek as Polish Neighbor
Leslie Randall as Mild Mannered Mike
Adam Astill as Businessman
Tim Howar as Johnnie
Kate Harper as Jill
Alex Avery as Andrew
Tim Ahern as Barry
Nadia Cameron-Blakey as Attractive Woman
Heather Bleasdale as Receptionist
Femi Oguns as Room Service Waiter
Noah Marullo as Silent Boy
Pascal Scott as Paddy the Postman
Rene Costa as Airport Passenger (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 133

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	8
4 to 6	9	38
7 to 9	17	0
10 to 12	0	0
13 to 15	16	0
16 to 18	6	5
19 to 21	0	2
22 to 24	1	9
25 to 27	3	0
28 to 30	4	0
31 to 33	2	0
34 to 36	10	12
37 to 39	0	27
40 to 42	32	18
43 to 45	4	16
46 to 48	13	14
49 to 51	28	23
52 to 54	1	1
55 to 57	0	0
58 to 60	0	0
61 to 63	1	2
64 to 66	0	27
67 to 69	15	26
70 to 72	31	31
73 to 75	0	3
76 to 78	4	2
79 to 81	20	17
82 to 84	2	2
85 to 87	20	18
88 to 90	0	0
91 to 93	10	6
94 to 96	10	25
97 to 99	0	0
100 to 102	12	11
103 to 105	4	4
106 to 108	18	16
109 to 111	0	3
112 to 114	0	2
115 to 117	0	1
118 to 120	12	4
121 to 123	5	1
124 to 126	2	13
127 to 129	7	7
130 to 132	0	0
133 to 133	21	20

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.

KATE: Aggie. AGGIE: Morning darling.

KATE: Right. OONAGH: Come on, i'm feeling small down here. Sit!

KATE: Yes... SUSAN: No. Could you find them a seat please.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 45 are women's.

340 lines from women, 414 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

14 women and 18 men in the cast. 10 women and 16 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 35 of 782. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 40 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 40% of the words (2,386), men 60% (3,533). Women have 45% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

5 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 44% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Joel Hopkins (man)
Written by: Joel Hopkins (gender not listed)
Produced by: Tim Perell (man), Nicola Usborne (gender not listed)
Shot by: John de Borman (man)
Edited by: Robin Sales (woman)
Music by: Dickon Hinchliffe (man)
Production design by: Jon Henson (gender not listed)
Costumes by: Natalie Ward (woman)
Cast by: Ali Farrell (woman), Elaine Grainger (woman), Laura Rosenthal (woman)