Passes the Bechdel test
Margot at the Wedding
2007. Directed by Noah Baumbach, written by Noah Baumbach.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
9 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 16 scenes out of 64. -
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
A slice of family life: sisters, husbands, children, history, secrets, jealousies. Margot and her teen son, Claude, travel from Manhattan to her family's Long Island home, occupied by sister Pauline, Pauline's daughter, and Malcolm, the slacker Pauline will marry outdoors that week under a tree neighbors want removed. Backbiting marks family discussion, particularly between the sisters and in Margot's cutting remarks to Claude. Pauline tells Margot a secret that Margot promptly tells Claude. Margot dislikes Malcolm and undermines him. She also has marital problems and a lover nearby. People are cruel, inside and outside their families. Is there a refuge for Margot or for Pauline?
- Released
- 21 Feb 2008
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6 / 10
- Metascore
- 66 / 100
- Awards
- 3 wins & 13 nominations
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Margot 308 lines, woman
- Pauline 235 lines, woman
- Claude 171 lines, man
- Malcolm 126 lines, man
- Ingrid 67 lines, woman
- Jim 27 lines, man
- Dick 20 lines, man
- Maisy 15 lines, woman
- Woman 10 lines, woman
- Boy 6 lines, man
Full cast, 25 people
- Nicole Kidman as Margot
- Jennifer Jason Leigh as Pauline
- Jack Black as Malcolm
- John Turturro as Jim
- Ciarán Hinds as Dick Koosman
- Zane Pais as Claude
- Flora Cross as Ingrid
- Halley Feiffer as Maisy Koosman
- Ashlie Atkinson as Becky
- Matthew Arkin as Alan
- Seth Barrish as Toby
- Susan Blackwell as Woman on Train
- Christian Hansen as Fireman
- Michael Cullen as Mr. Vogler
- Enid Graham as Mrs. Vogler
- Brian Kelley as Bruce
- Sophie Nyweide as Vogler Daughter
- Justin Roth as Vogler Son
- Jonathan Schwartz as Malcolm's Friend
- Lisa Emery as Woman with Dog
- Michael Medeiros as Karaoke Singer
- Alexander Emmet as Hot Guy / Bar Couple (uncredited)
- Chuck Gerena as Man in Bar / Street (uncredited)
- Tyler Kelley as Kid (uncredited)
- Sophie Savides as Girl on Boat (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 64
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 2 | 9 | 10 |
| 3 to 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 to 6 | 19 | 12 |
| 7 to 8 | 42 | 2 |
| 9 to 10 | 27 | 16 |
| 11 to 12 | 9 | 7 |
| 13 to 14 | 17 | 17 |
| 15 to 16 | 11 | 11 |
| 17 to 18 | 18 | 7 |
| 19 to 20 | 54 | 11 |
| 21 to 22 | 11 | 7 |
| 23 to 24 | 12 | 17 |
| 25 to 26 | 23 | 0 |
| 27 to 28 | 5 | 3 |
| 29 to 30 | 16 | 14 |
| 31 to 32 | 21 | 16 |
| 33 to 34 | 8 | 7 |
| 35 to 36 | 27 | 15 |
| 37 to 38 | 30 | 18 |
| 39 to 40 | 29 | 37 |
| 41 to 42 | 16 | 8 |
| 43 to 44 | 22 | 4 |
| 45 to 46 | 8 | 16 |
| 47 to 48 | 19 | 15 |
| 49 to 50 | 13 | 10 |
| 51 to 52 | 31 | 26 |
| 53 to 54 | 7 | 9 |
| 55 to 56 | 25 | 1 |
| 57 to 58 | 20 | 7 |
| 59 to 60 | 37 | 4 |
| 61 to 62 | 22 | 6 |
| 63 to 64 | 28 | 22 |
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.
INGRID: They're not Knicks colors! MARGOT: It's beautiful, Ingrid. INGRID: I made this one for myself. INGRID: Yours is yellow. Is that okay?
PAULINE: You're so handsome. PAULINE: I never thought I'd get you here. PAULINE: You're arriving in the midst of a drama. Ingrid, make sure Wizard is inside. INGRID: It's the Voglers.
PAULINE: Sorry. We're with family. I figured... PAULINE: I think Becky got it the worst. MARGOT: Did she ever. Raped by the horse trainer...
MARGOT: You took the awnings down. PAULINE: Well done.
MARGOT: We don't have much opportunity in Manhattan. PAULINE: As kids Margot climbed everything. She could even climb that tree.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 64 are women's.
640 lines from women, 360 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
9 women and 9 men in the cast. 6 women and 6 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 1,003.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 10 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 68% of the words (6,059), men 32% (2,860). Women have 64% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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
51
Two men
11
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 8 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 49% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Noah Baumbach (man)
- Written by
- Noah Baumbach (man)
- Produced by
- Scott Rudin (man)
- Shot by
- Harris Savides (man)
- Edited by
- Carol Littleton (woman)
- Production design by
- Anne Ross (woman)
- Costumes by
- Ann Roth (woman)
- Cast by
- Douglas Aibel (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 3 men
-
Sound
1 women, 5 men
-
Art
2 women, 2 men
-
Other crew
3 women, 1 men
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men
-
Directing
1 women, 1 men
-
Editing
1 women, 0 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 30 on average. Men: 41 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Flora Cross 14, Halley Feiffer 22, Ashlie Atkinson 30, Nicole Kidman 40, Jennifer Jason Leigh 45
Men
Zane Pais 14, Jack Black 38, Matthew Arkin 47, John Turturro 50, Ciarán Hinds 54
Exhibit H: the money
It made 29% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $10 million
- Box office
- $2.9 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 64 scenes and 1,003 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
