Passes the Bechdel test
Nowhere Boy
2009. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, written by Matt Greenhalgh and Julia Baird.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
7 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 171. -
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, though someone marked that rating as dubious.
The film
The story of John Lennon's (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) childhood and teenage years from 1944 to 1960, his relationship with his Aunt Mimi (Dame Kristin Scott Thomas) and his mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff) - the two dominant women in the first part of his life; his first meeting with Sir Paul McCartney (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and George Harrison (Sam Bell), their friendship, their love for music, and the birth of The Beatles.
- Released
- 25 Dec 2009
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, Music
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 67 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 4 BAFTA Awards. 6 wins & 21 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- John 312 lines, man
- Julia 139 lines, woman
- Mimi 135 lines, woman
- Paul 43 lines, man
- Pete 23 lines, man
- Pobjoy 16 lines, man
- Bobby 15 lines, man
- Uncle George 14 lines, man
- Fishwick 13 lines, man
- Stan 11 lines, man
Full cast, 29 people
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson as John Lennon
- Anne-Marie Duff as Julia Lennon
- Kristin Scott Thomas as Mimi Smith
- David Threlfall as George Toogood Smith
- David Morrissey as Bobby Dykins
- Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Paul McCartney
- Josh Bolt as Pete Shotton
- Ophelia Lovibond as Maria Kennedy
- Andrew Buchan as Michael Fishwick
- James Johnson as Stan Parkes
- James Jack Bentham as Rod Davis
- Jack McElhone as Eric Griffiths
- Sam Bell as George Harrison
- Colin Tierney as Alf Lennon
- Kerrie Hayes as Corrine, Marie's Friend
- Paul Ritter as Pobjoy, headmaster
- Chris Coghill as Cunard Yank
- Dan Armour as Percy Phillips
- Sam Wilmott as Colin Hanton
- Frazer Bird as Len
- Daniel Ross as Nigel
- John Collins as Ivan
- Richard Syms as Reverend
- Angela Walsh as Schoolmistress
- Simon Lowe as Guitar Shop Guy
- Lizzie Hopley as Cafe Waitress
- Angelica Jopling as Julia - aged 8
- Baillie Walsh as Postman
- Richard Tate as Teacher
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 171
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 | 8 | 1 |
| 5 to 8 | 7 | 14 |
| 9 to 12 | 1 | 18 |
| 13 to 16 | 1 | 29 |
| 17 to 20 | 5 | 4 |
| 21 to 24 | 4 | 2 |
| 25 to 28 | 3 | 17 |
| 29 to 32 | 15 | 4 |
| 33 to 36 | 9 | 7 |
| 37 to 40 | 4 | 0 |
| 41 to 44 | 0 | 5 |
| 45 to 48 | 21 | 21 |
| 49 to 52 | 20 | 12 |
| 53 to 56 | 1 | 2 |
| 57 to 60 | 0 | 15 |
| 61 to 64 | 0 | 15 |
| 65 to 68 | 1 | 15 |
| 69 to 72 | 1 | 2 |
| 73 to 76 | 17 | 16 |
| 77 to 80 | 5 | 3 |
| 81 to 84 | 3 | 5 |
| 85 to 88 | 6 | 8 |
| 89 to 92 | 11 | 14 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 23 |
| 97 to 100 | 1 | 6 |
| 101 to 104 | 1 | 28 |
| 105 to 108 | 0 | 21 |
| 109 to 112 | 9 | 12 |
| 113 to 116 | 3 | 25 |
| 117 to 120 | 3 | 10 |
| 121 to 124 | 2 | 20 |
| 125 to 128 | 19 | 20 |
| 129 to 132 | 27 | 14 |
| 133 to 136 | 7 | 1 |
| 137 to 140 | 17 | 13 |
| 141 to 144 | 0 | 1 |
| 145 to 148 | 21 | 13 |
| 149 to 152 | 11 | 10 |
| 153 to 156 | 6 | 3 |
| 157 to 160 | 0 | 18 |
| 161 to 164 | 0 | 9 |
| 165 to 168 | 0 | 1 |
| 169 to 171 | 12 | 15 |
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.
JULIA/IKE: Step in my rocket, And don't be late, We're pulling out 'bout half past eight... JULIA: Know what it means? 'Rock'n'Roll'? JULIA: Sex.
LITTLE JULIA: Mummy... I'm tired now.. Are you sad again? JULIA: Mummy's not sad. Look! JULIA: I'm coming now, honey. JULIA: I love you. Believe me.
JULIA: How long does it have to hurt Mimi? MIMI: Go home, Julia.
JULIA: Are you around Saturday? MIMI: Maybe. MIMI: Don't be silly.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 36 are women's.
282 lines from women, 492 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
7 women and 17 men in the cast. 5 women and 16 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 38 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 38% of the words (2,019), men 62% (3,354). Women have 36% 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
12
Two men
39
Exhibit F: behind the camera
5 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Sam Taylor-Johnson (woman)
- Written by
- Matt Greenhalgh (man)
- Produced by
- Robert Bernstein (man), Kevin Loader (man), Douglas Rae (man)
- Shot by
- Seamus McGarvey (man)
- Edited by
- Lisa Gunning (woman)
- Music by
- Alison Goldfrapp (woman), Will Gregory (man)
- Production design by
- Alice Normington (woman)
- Costumes by
- Julian Day (man)
- Cast by
- Nina Gold (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
4 women, 12 men, 8 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 7 men, 4 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 8 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 0 men, 3 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 37 on average. Men: 31 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Ophelia Lovibond 23, Anne-Marie Duff 39, Kristin Scott Thomas 49
Men
Josh Bolt 15, Aaron Taylor-Johnson 19, Thomas Brodie-Sangster 19, Andrew Buchan 30, David Morrissey 45, David Threlfall 56
Exhibit H: the money
It made 4.4 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $1.5 million
- Box office
- $6.6 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 171 scenes and 810 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
