Fails the Bechdel test
Mother!
2017. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Darren Aronofsky.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
29 women characters. 12 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
Amidst a wild flat meadow encircled by an Edenic lush forest, a couple have cocooned themselves in a secluded mansion that was not so long ago burned to the ground, devotedly restored by the supportive wife. Within this safe environment, the once famous middle-aged poet husband is desirous of creating his magnum opus; however, he seems unable to break out of the persistent creative rut that haunts him. Then, unexpectedly, a knock at the door, the sudden arrival of a cryptic late-night visitor and his intrusive wife will stimulate the writer's stagnant imagination. Little by little, much to the perplexed wife's surprise, the more chaos he lets in their haven, the better for his punctured male ego. In the end, will this incremental mess blemish, irreparably, the couple's inviolable sanctuary?
- Released
- 15 Sep 2017
- Genres
- Drama, Horror, Mystery
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 76 / 100
- Awards
- 9 wins & 54 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Mother 279 lines, woman
- Him 251 lines, man
- Woman 107 lines, woman
- Man 97 lines, man
- Zealot 26 lines, man
- Oldest Son 24 lines, man
- Herald 19 lines, woman
- Younger Brother 18 lines, man
- Cupbearer 10 lines, man
- Adulterer 9 lines, man
Full cast, 65 people
- Jennifer Lawrence as Mother
- Javier Bardem as Him
- Ed Harris as Man
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Woman
- Brian Gleeson as Younger Brother
- Domhnall Gleeson as Oldest Son
- Jovan Adepo as Cupbearer
- Amanda Chiu as Damsel
- Patricia Summersett as Consoler
- Eric Davis as Bumbler
- Raphael Grosz-Harvey as Philanderer
- Emily Hampshire as Fool
- Abraham Aronofsky as Wanderer
- Luis Oliva as Idler
- Stephanie Ng Wan as Whisperer
- Chris Gartin as Adulterer
- Stephen McHattie as Zealot
- Ambrosio De Luca as Defiler
- Gregg Bello as Pisser
- Arthur Holden as Lingerer
- Henry Kwok as Loiterer
- Alex Bisping as Aesthete
- Koumba Ball as Epicure
- Robert Higden as Drunkard
- Elizabeth Neale as Devotee
- Kristen Wiig as Herald
- Scott Humphrey as Abettor
- Marcia Jean Kurtz as Thief
- Anton Koval as Plunderer
- Carolyn Fe as Pilferer
- Anana Rydvald as Neophyte
- Cristina Rosato as Novitiate
- Pierre Simpson as Initiate
- Mylene Savoie as Supplicant
- Gitz Crazyboy as Hewer
- Shaun O'Hagan as Coppersmith
- Sabrina Campilii as Good Samaritan
- Stanley B. Herman as Fornicator
- Mizinga Mwinga as Deputy
- Genti Bejko as Whoremonger
- Andreas Apergis as Slave Driver
- Julianne Jain as Executioner
- Julien Irwin Dupuy as Soldier
- Bronwen Mantel as Penitent
- Amanda Warren as Healer
- Mason Franklin as Devourer
- Laurence Leboeuf as Maiden
- Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse as Foremother
- Xiao Sun as Fan (uncredited)
- Melissa Toussaint as Fan #3 (uncredited)
- Fred Nguyen Khan as Looter #1 (uncredited)
- Danny MAlin as Paparazzi #2 (uncredited)
- Adam Bernett as Protester #1 (uncredited)
- Bineyam Girma as Protester #2 (uncredited)
- Mercedes Leggett as Underling (uncredited)
- Alain Chanoine as Underling (uncredited)
- Kimberly Laferriere as Underling (uncredited)
- Deena Aziz as Refugee (uncredited)
- Izabela Dąbrowska as Refugee (uncredited)
- Hamza Haq as Refugee (uncredited)
- Vitali Makarov as Refugee (uncredited)
- Daniela Sandiford as Refugee (uncredited)
- Nathaly Thibault as Rave Dancer (uncredited)
- Chloë Bellande as Sex Slave (uncredited)
- Nobuya Shimamoto as Underling (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
We couldn't read who says what in this film's script, so there's no dialogue chart for it yet.
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, 48 are women's.
429 lines from women, 461 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
29 women and 35 men in the cast. 12 women and 21 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
A woman speaks the first line.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 12 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 44% of the words (2,506), men 56% (3,179). Women have 48% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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
0
Two men
17
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 33% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Darren Aronofsky (man)
- Written by
- Darren Aronofsky (man)
- Produced by
- Ari Handel (man), Scott Franklin (man)
- Shot by
- Matthew Libatique (man)
- Edited by
- Andrew Weisblum (man)
- Music by
- Jóhann Jóhannsson (man)
- Production design by
- Philip Messina (man)
- Costumes by
- Danny Glicker (man)
- Cast by
- Mary Vernieu (woman), Lindsay Graham Ahanonu (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
5 women, 7 men, 7 not listed
-
Other crew
2 women, 6 men, 9 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 10 men, 3 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 2 men, 9 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 5 men, 5 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 5 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Visual Effects
3 women, 1 men, 4 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 37 on average. Men: 41 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Jennifer Lawrence 27, Amanda Chiu 27, Patricia Summersett 35, Michelle Pfeiffer 59
Men
Brian Gleeson 29, Jovan Adepo 29, Domhnall Gleeson 34, Javier Bardem 48, Ed Harris 66
Exhibit G: the money
It made 1.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $30 million
- Box office
- $44.5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 1 scenes and 904 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
