Fails the Bechdel test

Mud

Name: Mud
Released: 2013

2013. Directed by Jeff Nichols, written by Jeff Nichols.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
4 women characters. 3 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 1 out of 3.

The film

14 year-old Ellis (Tye Sheridan) lives on a makeshift houseboat on the banks of a river in Arkansas with his parents, Mary Lee (Sarah Paulson) and Senior (Ray McKinnon). He sneaks out early one morning to meet his best friend, Neckbone (Jacob Lofland). Neckbone, also 14, lives with his uncle, Galen (Michael Shannon), who makes a hardscrabble living diving for oysters. The two boys set out to an island on the Mississippi River, where Neckbone has discovered an unusual sight-a boat, suspended high in the trees, a remnant of an extreme flood some time in the past. They climb the tree and into the boat only to find fresh bread and fresh footprints. Realizing that they are not the only ones who have discovered the treehouse boat, they decide to leave. When they reach the shore, they find the same footprint in their boat. And that's when they meet Mud (Matthew McConaughey). Mud is a gritty, superstitious character; his clothes are dirty, his tooth is cracked, and he needs help. He tells the boys he will give them the treehouse boat, his current hideout, in exchange for food. Neckbone is reluctant, but Ellis brings food to Mud, and they develop a tentative friendship. Ellis learns that Mud has killed a man in Texas, and police and bounty hunters are looking for him, but Mud is more concerned about reuniting with his longtime love, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Ellis, who has recently developed his own crush, agrees to help Mud escape with Juniper. Ellis and Neckbone carry out bold schemes in an effort to protect Mud and relay messages to Juniper, who is holed up in a fleabag motel, under constant surveillance by Carver (Paul Sparks), a Texas bounty hunter. Carver and his gang are intent on capturing Mud, on orders from the cold-blooded King (Joe Don Baker). As the boys risk everything to reunite these seeming mythical lovers, Ellis's own ideas about love and romance are challenged by the strains in the relationships closest to him: his parents' marriage is dissolving while he himself falters in his efforts to impress May Pearl (Bonnie Sturdivant). Through it all, Ellis struggles to look for an example of love that he can believe in, learning about the unspoken rules and risks of love and the reality of heartbreak.

Released: 10 May 2013
Genres: Adventure, Drama
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.3 / 10
Metascore: 76 / 100
Awards: 15 wins & 39 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Ellis 341 lines, man
Mud 192 lines, man
Neckbone 181 lines, man
Senior 57 lines, man
Juniper 39 lines, woman
Tom 32 lines, man
Mary Lee 31 lines, woman
May Pearl 28 lines, woman
Carver 23 lines, man
Galen 18 lines, man

Full cast, 26 people

Matthew McConaughey as Mud
Reese Witherspoon as Juniper
Tye Sheridan as Ellis
Jacob Lofland as Neckbone
Sam Shepard as Tom
Ray McKinnon as Senior
Sarah Paulson as Mary Lee
Michael Shannon as Galen
Joe Don Baker as King
Paul Sparks as Carver
Bonnie Sturdivant as May Pearl
Stuart Greer as Miller
John Ward Jr. as Galen's Helper
Kristy Barrington as Princess
Johnny Cheek as Kyle
Kenneth Hill as Nelson
Michael Abbott Jr. as James
Earnest McCoy as Man at Budget Inn
Allie Wade as May Pearl's Friend
Douglas Ligon as Motel Clerk
Matt Newcomb as Male Nurse
Mary Alice Jones as Female Nurse
Tate Smalley as Older Kid at Food King
Jimmy Dinwiddie as Bartender
Ryan Jacks as Trooper at Roadblock
Richard Ledbetter as Man on Street (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 151

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	1	1
5 to 8	0	9
9 to 12	0	11
13 to 16	0	24
17 to 20	0	65
21 to 24	5	34
25 to 28	2	11
29 to 32	1	52
33 to 36	11	27
37 to 40	1	23
41 to 44	0	42
45 to 48	10	5
49 to 52	0	63
53 to 56	0	41
57 to 60	14	29
61 to 64	0	20
65 to 68	4	23
69 to 72	7	8
73 to 76	0	42
77 to 80	0	24
81 to 84	0	53
85 to 88	10	29
89 to 92	0	10
93 to 96	0	8
97 to 100	6	45
101 to 104	0	23
105 to 108	15	7
109 to 112	11	20
113 to 116	0	15
117 to 120	0	16
121 to 124	0	5
125 to 128	6	17
129 to 132	0	26
133 to 136	0	2
137 to 140	0	4
141 to 144	0	8
145 to 148	0	14
149 to 151	0	7

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, 11 are women's.

104 lines from women, 863 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

4 women and 10 men in the cast. 3 women and 9 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 986. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 138 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 9% of the words (1,107), men 91% (11,125). Women have 11% 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

5 of the 11 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 32% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Jeff Nichols (man)
Written by: Jeff Nichols (man)
Produced by: Aaron Ryder (man), Lisa Maria Falcone (woman), Sarah Green (woman)
Shot by: Adam Stone (man)
Edited by: Julie Monroe (woman)
Music by: David Wingo (man)
Production design by: Richard A. Wright (man)
Costumes by: Kari Perkins (woman)
Cast by: Francine Maisler (woman)