Fails the Bechdel test
Lincoln
2012. Directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Tony Kushner and Doris Kearns Goodwin.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
5 women characters. 3 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
In 1865, as the American Civil War winds inexorably toward conclusion, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln endeavors to achieve passage of the landmark constitutional amendment which will forever ban slavery from the United States. However, his task is a race against time, for peace may come at any time, and if it comes before the amendment is passed, the returning southern states will stop it before it can become law. Lincoln must, by almost any means possible, obtain enough votes from a recalcitrant Congress before peace arrives and it is too late. Yet the president is torn, as an early peace would save thousands of lives. As the nation confronts its conscience over the freedom of its entire population, Lincoln faces his own crisis of conscience -- end slavery or end the war.
- Released
- 16 Nov 2012
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, History
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 87 / 100
- Awards
- Won 2 Oscars. 107 wins & 251 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Lincoln 198 lines, man
- Seward 56 lines, man
- Mary 52 lines, woman
- Thaddeus Stevens 40 lines, man
- James Ashley 23 lines, man
- Robert 21 lines, man
- Robert Latham 17 lines, man
- Fernando Wood 16 lines, man
- George Pendleton 16 lines, man
- Richard Schell 15 lines, man
Full cast, 135 people
- Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln
- Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln
- David Strathairn as William Seward
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Lincoln
- James Spader as W.N. Bilbo
- Hal Holbrook as Preston Blair
- Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens
- John Hawkes as Robert Latham
- Jackie Earle Haley as Alexander Stephens
- Bruce McGill as Edwin Stanton
- Tim Blake Nelson as Richard Schell
- Joseph Cross as John Hay
- Jared Harris as Ulysses S. Grant
- Lee Pace as Fernando Wood
- Peter McRobbie as George Pendleton
- Gulliver McGrath as Tad Lincoln
- Gloria Reuben as Elizabeth Keckley
- Jeremy Strong as John Nicolay
- Michael Stuhlbarg as George Yeaman
- Boris McGiver as Alexander Coffroth
- David Costabile as James Ashley
- Stephen Spinella as Asa Vintner Litton
- Walton Goggins as Clay Hawkins
- David Warshofsky as William Hutton
- Colman Domingo as Private Harold Green
- David Oyelowo as Corporal Ira Clark
- Lukas Haas as First White Soldier
- Dane DeHaan as Second White Soldier
- Carlos Thompson as Navy Yard – Shouting Soldier
- Bill Camp as Mr. Jolly
- Elizabeth Marvel as Mrs. Jolly
- Byron Jennings as Montgomery Blair
- Julie White as Elizabeth Blair Lee
- Charmaine White as Minerva – Blair's Servant
- Ralph D. Edlow as Leo – Blair's Servant
- Grainger Hines as Gideon Welles
- Richard Topol as James Speed
- Walt Smith as William Fessenden
- Dakin Matthews as John Usher
- James 'Ike' Eichling as William Dennison
- Wayne Duvall as Senator Bluff Wade
- Bill Raymond as Schuyler Colfax
- Michael Stanton Kennedy as Hiram Price
- Ford Flannagan as White House Doorkeeper – Tom Pendel
- Robert Ayers as White House Petitioner
- Robert Peters as Jacob Graylor
- John Moon as Edwin LeClerk
- Kevin Lawrence O'Donnell as Charles Hanson
- Jamie Horton as Giles Stuart
- Joe Dellinger as Nelson Merrick
- Richard Warner as Homer Benson
- Elijah Chester as Union Army Officer
- Dave Hager as Captain Nathan Saunders – River Queen
- Sean Haggerty as Officer in Peace Commissioners Exchange
- Mike Shiflett as Senator R.M.T. Hunter
- Gregory Itzin as Judge John A. Campbell
- Stephen Dunn as Petersburg Siege Lines – Confederate Officer
- Stephen McKinley Henderson as William Slade
- Chase Edmunds as Willie Lincoln
- John Hutton as Senator Charles Sumner
- Robert Ruffin as Major Thompson Eckert
- Drew Sease as David Homer Bates
- John Lescault as Gustavus Fox
- Scott Wichmann as Charles Benjamin
- Adam Driver as Samuel Beckwith
- Jean Kennedy Smith as House of Representatives – Woman Shouter
- Shirley Augustine as House of Representatives – Woman Shouter
- Sarah Wylie as House of Representatives – Woman Shouter
- Margaret Ann McGowan as House of Representatives – Woman Shouter
- Hilary Montgomery as House of Representatives – Woman Shouter
- Asa-Luke Twocrow as Ely Parker
- Lancer Dean Shull as Union Soldier – Bodyguard
- Robert Wilharm as Wounded Soldier
- Kevin Kline as Wounded Soldier
- John Jones as Wounded Soldier
- Paul Gowans as Wounded Soldier
- Joseph Miller as Wounded Soldier
- John Bellemer as Faust
- Mary Dunleavy as Marguerite
- Christopher Evan Welch as Clerk – Edward McPherson
- Alan Sader as Sergeant At Arms
- Gannon McHale as Aaron Haddam
- Ken Lambert as Augustus Benjamin
- Thomas Belgrey as Arthur Bentleigh
- Ted Johnson as John Ellis
- Don Henderson Baker as Walter Appleton
- Raynor Scheine as Josiah S. 'Beanpole' Burton
- Armistead Wellford as Nehemiah Cleary
- Michael Ruff as Harold Hollister
- Rich Wills as House of Representatives – Soldier One
- Stephen Bozzo as House of Representatives – Soldier Two
- Christopher Alan Stewart as Sergeant – Grant's HQ
- Teddy Eck as Corporal – Grant's HQ
- Todd Fletcher as Walter H. Washburn
- Charles Kinney as Myer Strauss
- Joseph Carlson as Joseph Marstern
- Michael Goodwin as Chilton A. Elliot
- Edward McDonald as Daniel G. Stuart
- Jim Batchelder as Howard Guillefoyle
- Gregory Hosaflook as John F. McKenzie
- Joe Kerkes as Andrew E. Finck
- William Kaffenberger as John A. Casson
- Larry Van Hoose as Avon Hanready
- C. Brandon Marshall as Rufus Warren
- David Russell Graham as House of Representatives – Rebel Shouter
- Benjamin Shirley as House of Representatives – Rebel Shouter
- Henry Kidd as House of Representatives – Rebel Shouter
- Joseph Frances Filipowski as House of Representatives – Rebel Shouter
- Thomas Aldridge as House of Representatives
- Sidney Blackmer Jr. as House of Representatives
- Billy Caldwell as House of Representatives
- Glenn T. Crone as House of Representatives
- Martin Dew as House of Representatives
- Theodore Ewald as House of Representatives
- Todd Hunter as House of Representatives
- Joe Inscoe as House of Representatives
- Raymond H. Johnson as House of Representatives
- Gary Keener as House of Representatives
- Randolph Meekins as House of Representatives
- Frank Moran as House of Representatives
- Charley Morgan as House of Representatives
- Chad Pettit as House of Representatives
- Barry Privett as House of Representatives
- Leslie Rogers as House of Representatives
- Marcello Rollando as House of Representatives
- Keith Tyree as House of Representatives
- Kevin J. Walsh as House of Representatives
- Robert Wray as House of Representatives
- S. Epatha Merkerson as Lydia Smith
- Christopher Boyer as General Robert E. Lee
- Stephen Dunford as Actor Swordsman
- David Doersch as Actor Demon Affrit
- Christopher Cartmill as Leonard Grover
- Robert Shepherd as Dr. Joseph K. Barnes
- Lucas N. Hall as Grover's Theater Patron
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 103
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 | 28 |
| 4 to 6 | 15 | 10 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 20 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 54 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 52 |
| 16 to 18 | 8 | 29 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 9 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 3 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 3 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 14 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 13 |
| 37 to 39 | 17 | 30 |
| 40 to 42 | 4 | 29 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 18 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 10 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 9 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 5 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 31 |
| 58 to 60 | 2 | 15 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 23 |
| 64 to 66 | 11 | 9 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 51 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 21 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 9 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 27 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 1 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 8 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 6 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 3 |
| 91 to 93 | 5 | 19 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 8 |
| 97 to 99 | 5 | 15 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 1 |
| 103 to 103 | 0 | 2 |
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.
67 lines from women, 585 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
5 women and 64 men in the cast. 3 women and 45 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 31 of 693.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 156 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 13% of the words (1,345), men 87% (9,259). Women have 10% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
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
1
Two men
58
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 10 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Steven Spielberg (man)
- Written by
- Tony Kushner (man)
- Produced by
- Kathleen Kennedy (woman), Steven Spielberg (man)
- Shot by
- Janusz Kamiński (man)
- Edited by
- Michael Kahn (man)
- Music by
- John Williams (man)
- Production design by
- Rick Carter (man)
- Costumes by
- Joanna Johnston (woman)
- Cast by
- Avy Kaufman (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
3 women, 5 men
-
Art
1 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 5 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 1 men
-
Directing
0 women, 3 men
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men
-
Editing
0 women, 2 men
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 66 on average. Men: 58 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Sally Field 66
Men
Joseph Gordon-Levitt 31, Jackie Earle Haley 51, James Spader 52, John Hawkes 53, Daniel Day-Lewis 55, Bruce McGill 62, David Strathairn 63, Tommy Lee Jones 66, Hal Holbrook 87
Exhibit G: the money
It made 4.2 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $65 million
- Box office
- $275 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 103 scenes and 693 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
