Passes the Bechdel test

Maria

Name: Maria
Released: 2024

2024. Directed by Pablo Larraín, written by Steven Knight.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
11 women characters. 3 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 8 scenes out of 114.
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

Maria Callas is one of the most iconic performers of the 20th century. The film follows the Greek-American soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye, reimagining the legendary diva in her final days as she reckons with her identity and life.

Released: 11 Dec 2024
Genres: Biography, Drama, Music
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.4 / 10
Metascore: 63 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 6 wins & 32 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Maria 291 lines, woman
Ferruccio 67 lines, man
Onassis 60 lines, man
Mandrax 44 lines, man
Jeffrey 36 lines
Bruna 33 lines, woman
Doctor Fontainebleau 23 lines, man
Yakinthi 16 lines, woman
Jfk 14 lines, man
Ronald 10 lines, man

Full cast, 40 people

Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas
Pierfrancesco Favino as Ferruccio
Alba Rohrwacher as Bruna
Haluk Bilginer as Aristotle Onassis
Kodi Smit-McPhee as Mandrax
Stephen Ashfield as Jeffrey Tate
Valeria Golino as Yakinthi Callas
Caspar Phillipson as John. F Kennedy
Lydia Koniordou as Lista Callas
Vincent Macaigne as Doctor Fointainebleau
Aggelina Papadopoulou as Young Callas (1940)
Erofili Panagiotarea as Young Yakinthi (1940)
Jörg Westphal as SS Officer
Philipp Droste as SS Officer
Alessandro Bressanello as Giovanni Battista Meneghini
Paul Spera as Ronald
Kay Madsen as Cameraman
Lyes Salem as Waiter
Christophe Favre as Maître d'Hôtel
Hugo Dillon as Pierre
Lidia Zelikmann Kauders as Young Callas (1930)
Toma Hrisztov as Opera Lover
Botond Bartus as Dorchester Man
Rebecka Johnston as Party Guest
Lili Walters as Florist
Jeremy Wheeler as Dorchester Tuxedo Man
János Geréb as Neighbour
Andrew Hefler as Café Guest
Bálint Magyar as Prince Rainier of Monaco
Patrick McCullough as Waiter
Francis McBurney as Hospital Security Guard
Christiana Aloneftis as Young Callas (1947)
Miklós Béres as Neighbour
Lorena Santana-Somogyi as Spectator
Tímea Kása as Spectator
Kembe Sorel as Spectator
András Sütö as Balcony Neighbour
Suzie Kennedy as Marilyn Monroe
Maria Callas as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Aristotle Onassis as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 114

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	0
4 to 6	0	0
7 to 9	0	0
10 to 12	0	0
13 to 15	3	3
16 to 18	17	0
19 to 21	2	1
22 to 24	36	33
25 to 27	20	0
28 to 30	7	12
31 to 33	8	10
34 to 36	6	9
37 to 39	26	31
40 to 42	4	4
43 to 45	1	0
46 to 48	0	0
49 to 51	0	0
52 to 54	0	0
55 to 57	16	0
58 to 60	11	13
61 to 63	8	1
64 to 66	11	8
67 to 69	8	9
70 to 72	19	11
73 to 75	1	1
76 to 78	17	16
79 to 81	37	35
82 to 84	36	0
85 to 87	2	0
88 to 90	1	0
91 to 93	5	13
94 to 96	10	2
97 to 99	16	20
100 to 102	13	8
103 to 105	0	0
106 to 108	0	0
109 to 111	0	0
112 to 114	0	1

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.

MARIA: So? BRUNA: It was magnificent. MARIA: Thank you.

MARIA: Today, on a bridge, I made a decision... BRUNA: The dogs were afraid of the loud noise. MARIA: Did you buy what I asked for?

BRUNA: It was a dull day, I imagine. MARIA: Good. The piano is much better there. Both of you. Put on nicer clothes... MARIA: We are going to celebrate my life...

MARIA: Where to now? BRUNA: We are tired, Madam. BRUNA: And we are worried.

MARIA: It took a great deal of effort for me to enter this restaurant. I had to say a magic spell. YAKINTHI: Since I sent you the medication, I have bee n regretting it. MARIA: I have no regrets. How do I look? YAKINTHI: Too thin.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 59 are women's.

341 lines from women, 241 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

11 women and 22 men in the cast. 3 women and 9 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 14 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 60% of the words (3,335), men 40% (2,238). Women have 59% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

5 of the 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Pablo Larraín (man)
Written by: Steven Knight (man)
Produced by: Juan de Dios Larraín (man), Lorenzo Mieli (man), Jonas Dornbach (man), Maren Ade (woman), Simone Gattoni (gender not listed), Janine Jackowski (woman) and 1 more
Shot by: Edward Lachman (man)
Edited by: Sofía Subercaseaux (woman)
Production design by: Guy Hendrix Dyas (man)
Costumes by: Massimo Cantini Parrini (man)
Cast by: Katalin Baranyi (gender not listed), Sofia Dimopoulou (woman), Maurilio Mangano (man), Mathilde Snodgrass (woman)