Passes the Bechdel test

Mulholland Drive

Name: Mulholland Drive
Released: 2001

2001. Directed by David Lynch, written by David Lynch.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
20 women characters. 12 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 14 scenes out of 107.
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

Untarnished by the false promises of the rapacious film industry, wide-eyed ingénue Betty arrives in the bustling, sun-kissed streets of Hollywood. Brimming with hope, she moves into Aunt Ruth's apartment, unaware that fate has other plans. Before long, Betty finds herself drawn into an elaborate labyrinth of half-truths and faded memories, tangled up in the surreal machinery of a strange key to an eye-opening keyhole, a mysterious indigo-blue cube, and one amnesiac car-crash survivor: the devilishly seductive brunette, Rita. But time flies, and Rita's opaque past demands answers. After all, both women deserve the truth. What secrets lie within the serpentine, dream-crushing Mulholland Drive?

Released: 19 Oct 2001
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.9 / 10
Metascore: 87 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 50 wins & 61 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Betty 183 lines, woman
Adam 78 lines, man
Rita 59 lines, woman
Coco 30 lines, woman
Joe 23 lines, man
Cynthia 20 lines, woman
Cowboy 18 lines, man
Ray 17 lines, man
Jimmy 15 lines, man
Wally 13 lines, man

Full cast, 73 people

Naomi Watts as Betty Elms / Diane Selwyn
Laura Harring as Rita / Camilla Rhodes
Justin Theroux as Adam
Ann Miller as Coco
Mark Pellegrino as Joe
Robert Forster as Detective McKnight
Dan Hedaya as Vincenzo Castigliane
Angelo Badalamenti as Luigi Castigliane
Patrick Fischler as Dan
Brent Briscoe as Detective Domgaard
Michael Cooke as Herb
Monty Montgomery as Cowboy
Lee Grant as Louise
James Karen as Wally Brown
Chad Everett as Jimmy Katz
Melissa George as Camilla Rhodes
Scott Coffey as Wilkins
Richard Green as The Magician
Rebekah Del Rio as Rebekah Del Rio
Jeanne Bates as Irene
Dan Birnbaum as Irene's Companion
Lori Heuring as Lorraine
Marcus Graham as Mr. Darby
Bonnie Aarons as Bum
Michael J. Anderson as Mr. Roque
Geno Silva as Hotel Manager / Emcee
Billy Ray Cyrus as Gene
Vincent Castellanos as Ed
Wayne Grace as Bob Brooker
Rita Taggart as Linney James
Michele Hicks as Nicki
Lisa Lackey as Carol
Tad Horino as Taka
Missy Crider as Waitress at Winkie’s
Kate Forster as Martha Johnson
Tony Longo as Kenny
Michael Fairman as Jason
Rena Riffel as Laney
Katharine Towne as Cynthia
Michael Des Barres as Billy
Robert Katims as Ray Hott
Randall Wulff as Limo Driver
Maya Bond as Aunt Ruth
Joseph Kearney as Roque's Manservant
Enrique Buelna as Back of Head Man
Richard Mead as Hairy-Armed Man
Daniel Rey as Valet Attendant
David Schroeder as Robert Smith
Tom Morris as Espresso Man
Mo Gallini as Castigliane Limo Driver
Diane Nelson as Heavy-Set Woman
Charles Croughwell as Vacuum Man
Michael D. Weatherred as Hank - Assistant Director
Lisa K. Ferguson as 1st AC
William Ostrander as 2nd Assistant Director
Brian Beacock as Backup Singer #1
Blake Lindsley as Backup Singer #2
Adrien Curry as Backup Singer #3
Tyrah M. Lindsey as Backup Singer #4
Johanna Stein as Woman in #12
Conte Candoli as Trumpet Player
Cori Glazer as Blue-Haired Lady
Lyssie Powell as Blond in Bed
Sean Everett as Cab Driver at LAX
Kimberly Clever as Dancer
Joshua Collazo as Dancer
David Frutos as Dancer
Peter Loggins as Dancer
Theresa Salazar as Dancer
Thea Samuels as Dancer
Christian Thompson as Dancer
Elina Madison as Starlet (uncredited)
Jehshua Barnes as Young Actor (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 107

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	1	1
7 to 9	0	0
10 to 12	0	10
13 to 15	0	19
16 to 18	7	2
19 to 21	22	1
22 to 24	19	0
25 to 27	17	16
28 to 30	0	11
31 to 33	1	42
34 to 36	15	9
37 to 39	5	22
40 to 42	0	2
43 to 45	0	2
46 to 48	19	9
49 to 51	15	1
52 to 54	8	4
55 to 57	1	0
58 to 60	20	0
61 to 63	8	0
64 to 66	2	3
67 to 69	1	0
70 to 72	17	0
73 to 75	13	26
76 to 78	0	34
79 to 81	28	0
82 to 84	15	13
85 to 87	20	0
88 to 90	40	52
91 to 93	17	5
94 to 96	24	0
97 to 99	4	0
100 to 102	1	2
103 to 105	10	0
106 to 107	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.

BETTY: It's unbelievable! COCO: I told ya. BETTY: Wow! COCO: Now I guess you and your Aunt have an understanding. So here's the key and you need anything, just give a holler. Everybody in this building…

BETTY: Hi...do you work with my Aunt? RITA: No ..........I. BETTY: I...I mean......I...it's none of my business. RITA: She has pretty red hair... she is very kind I think.

BETTY: I wonder where you were going. RITA: Mulholland Drive. BETTY: Mulholland Drive? RITA: That's where I was going... Mulholland Drive.

BETTY: Maybe it happened so late it's not going to be in today's paper. RITA: There's nothing? BETTY: Not that I can see. BETTY: Thank you ... Diane.

BETTY: Strange to be calling yourself. RITA: Maybe it's not me. BETTY: Call the number.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 55 are women's.

350 lines from women, 286 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

20 women and 35 men in the cast. 12 women and 30 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 70 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 57% of the words (4,092), men 43% (3,051). Women have 55% 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

3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 25% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: David Lynch (man)
Written by: David Lynch (man)
Produced by: Alain Sarde (man), Mary Sweeney (woman), Neal Edelstein (man), Tony Krantz (man), Michael Polaire (man)
Shot by: Peter Deming (man)
Edited by: Mary Sweeney (woman)
Music by: Angelo Badalamenti (man)
Production design by: Jack Fisk (man)
Costumes by: Amy Stofsky (gender not listed)
Cast by: Johanna Ray (woman)