Passes the Bechdel test

Maudie

Name: Maudie
Released: 2017

2017. Directed by Aisling Walsh, written by Sherry White.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
5 women characters. 6 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 12 scenes out of 161.
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

1930's rural Nova Scotia. Maud Dowley, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, smokes heavily to deal with the pain. Because of her unusual gait from the arthritis, she is often mistaken as a stupid, incapable woman, that perception which does make her feel stupid and incapable. That view is held by her surviving family, her brother Charlie and her Aunt Ida with whom she lives. After an action by Charlie, Maud decides to seek some independence and is the only applicant for a posted job as housekeeper for brusque Everett Lewis, a poor fish seller. Despite not wanting to hire a cripple which only adds to their antagonism, Maud negotiates to get the job for room and board. Their antagonistic relationship ends up including Everett exacting beatings on Maud whenever she doesn't do what he wants. To keep herself happy, Maud begins to paint the interior of the house with happy pictures and paint similar pictures on small cards, these folk art pictures are how she wants to see the world. Maud's paintings come to the attention of one of Everett's customers, Sandra, a New York socialite, who ultimately commissions Maud to paint some pictures for her if Maud won't or can't sell what she's already painted. This begins Maud's possible independence from her violent relationship with Everett, who in turn admits that he may need Maud more than she needs him. In the process, Maud is able to revisit an issue from her past which she believed had long died in a literal sense.

Released: 04 Aug 2017
Genres: Biography, Drama, Romance
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.6 / 10
Metascore: 65 / 100
Awards: 25 wins & 17 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Maud 364 lines, woman
Everett 250 lines, man
Sandra 68 lines, woman
Ida 35 lines, woman
Charles 27 lines, man
Frank 23 lines, man
Aunt Ida 21 lines, woman
Mr. Hill 9 lines, man
Mr. Mcdougal 8 lines, man
Kay 7 lines, woman

Full cast, 17 people

Sally Hawkins as Maud Lewis
Ethan Hawke as Everett Lewis
Gabrielle Rose as Aunt Ida
Billy MacLellan as Frank
Zachary Bennett as Charles Dowley
Kari Matchett as Sandra
David Feehan as Paul
Lawrence Barry as Mr. Davis (Shopkeeper)
Marthe Bernard as Kay
Greg Malone as Mr. Hill
Nik Sexton as Steven (CBC Reporter)
Brian Marler as Doctor
Denise Sinnott as Hospital Nurse
Mike Daly as Man at Bar
Judy Hancock as Ida's Nurse
Lisa Machin as Nurse (uncredited)
Erin Mick

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 1% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 161

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	15	0
5 to 8	22	13
9 to 12	41	1
13 to 16	2	19
17 to 20	1	0
21 to 24	41	20
25 to 28	11	10
29 to 32	16	4
33 to 36	4	16
37 to 40	10	2
41 to 44	12	4
45 to 48	5	9
49 to 52	2	0
53 to 56	16	8
57 to 60	12	24
61 to 64	32	0
65 to 68	26	23
69 to 72	6	2
73 to 76	0	3
77 to 80	25	14
81 to 84	6	9
85 to 88	7	7
89 to 92	3	7
93 to 96	8	7
97 to 100	19	10
101 to 104	19	24
105 to 108	8	11
109 to 112	12	9
113 to 116	2	3
117 to 120	7	7
121 to 124	29	8
125 to 128	12	0
129 to 132	15	0
133 to 136	13	15
137 to 140	19	16
141 to 144	1	0
145 to 148	7	9
149 to 152	12	4
153 to 156	2	5
157 to 160	6	7
161 to 161	0	0

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.

IDA: Look at that, tsk tsk. The dust is going on the sheets. MAUD: I got it. IDA: Maud. I'll have to rewash it now. It's easier if I do it alone, you're too awkward.

AUNT IDA: You better not tell me you were out at that club. MAUD: I wasn't going to tell you that. AUNT IDA: Where were you? MAUD: I was at the club. But I wasn't gonna tell you.

MAUD: I wanted to get your tea ready for after your prayer but you're out of tea bags. And you need flour. AUNT IDA: Not now, Maud. MAUD: Do you want me to run to the store? AUNT IDA: I'll do it later.

MAUD: Oh, hello. You caught me in the middle of my chores. I'm sweating buckets. MAUD: Aunt Ida. There's someone here to see you. AUNT IDA: Never thought I'd see you on this step again.

IDA: Shake it. You have to let a bit of air under it to get lift. Up. Up. MAUD: Lordy. Takes muscle, don't it? IDA: Higher. Let me show you. IDA: What is that racket?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 61 are women's.

506 lines from women, 330 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

5 women and 9 men in the cast. 6 women and 7 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 17 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 (4,765), men 40% (3,147). Women have 61% 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

6 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 41% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Aisling Walsh (woman)
Written by: Sherry White (woman)
Produced by: Bob Cooper (man), Susan Mullen (woman), Mary Sexton (woman), Mary Young Leckie (woman)
Shot by: Guy Godfree (man)
Edited by: Stephen O'Connell (man)
Music by: Michael Timmins (man)
Production design by: John Hand (man)
Costumes by: Trysha Bakker (woman)
Cast by: Jason Knight (man), John Buchan (man)