Fails the Bechdel test

Ronin

Name: Ronin
Released: 1998

1998. Directed by John Frankenheimer, written by J.D. Zeik and David Mamet.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

0 / 3

Fails

No 1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters.
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

Ronin is the Japanese word used for Samurai without a master. In this case, the Ronin are outcast specialists of every kind, whose services are available to everyone - for money. Dierdre (undoubtedly from Ireland) hires several Ronin to form a team in order to retrieve an important suitcase from a man who is about to sell it to the Russians. After the mission has been completed successfully, the suitcase immediately gets switched by a member of the team who seems to work into his own pocket. The complex net of everyone tricking everyone begins to surface slowly, and deadly...

Released: 25 Sep 1998
Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.2 / 10
Metascore: 67 / 100
Awards: 1 win & 4 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Sam 204 lines, man
Vincent 171 lines, man
Deirdre 94 lines, woman
Gregor 61 lines, man
Larry 41 lines, man
Seamus 40 lines, man
Jean-Pierre 23 lines, man
Swede 23 lines, man
Tony 19 lines, man
Francois 11 lines, man

Full cast, 44 people

Robert De Niro as Sam
Jean Reno as Vincent
Natascha McElhone as Deirdre
Stellan Skarsgård as Gregor
Skipp Sudduth as Larry
Jonathan Pryce as Seamus O'Rourke
Sean Bean as Spence
Michael Lonsdale as Jean-Pierre
Féodor Atkine as Mikhi
Katarina Witt as Natacha Kirilova
Ron Perkins as Man with the Newspaper
Daniel Breton as Sergi's Accomplice
Amidou as Man at Exchange
Jan Tříska as Dapper Gent
Bernard Bloch as Sergi
Léopoldine Serre as Arles Little Girl
Dominic Gugliametti as Clown Ice Skater
Alan Beckworth as Clown Ice Skater
Tolsty as The 'Boss'
Gérard Moulévrier as Tour Guide
Lionel Vitrant as The 'Target'
Vincent Schmitt as Arles Messenger
Julia Maraval as Girl Hostage
Laurent Spielvogel as Tourist in Nice
Steve Suissa as Waiter in Nice
Katia Tchenko as Woman Hostage
Dyna Gauzy as Little Screaming Girl
Lilly-Fleur Pointeaux as Little Girl
Dimitri Rafalsky as Russian Interpreter
Gérard Touratier as Ice Rink Security Guard
Christophe Maratier as Armed Police Officer
Pierre Forest as CRS Captain
Henry Moati as Bartender
Cyril Prentout as Mikhi's Bodyguard
Vladimir Tchernine as Russian Mechanic
Amanda Spencer as Little Girl
Frédéric Schmalzbauer as German Tour Guide
Lou Maraval as Arles Little Girl
Nader Boussandel as Weapon Seller (uncredited)
Hélène Cardona as Police Dispatch (voice) (uncredited)
Lee Delong as (uncredited)
Norbert Ferrer as Ambulance Man Nice (uncredited)
Veronique Blanc Meyere as Natacha Kirilova's Assistant (uncredited)
Christine Musset as Natacha Kirilova's Assistant (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 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 92

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 2	0	2
3 to 4	0	1
5 to 6	0	2
7 to 8	3	3
9 to 10	0	7
11 to 12	7	34
13 to 14	5	37
15 to 16	0	7
17 to 18	0	51
19 to 20	1	13
21 to 22	3	5
23 to 24	5	19
25 to 26	5	4
27 to 28	8	12
29 to 30	1	0
31 to 32	0	1
33 to 34	0	0
35 to 36	2	11
37 to 38	10	21
39 to 40	0	12
41 to 42	0	6
43 to 44	0	8
45 to 46	0	0
47 to 48	1	20
49 to 50	3	7
51 to 52	4	8
53 to 54	0	1
55 to 56	0	1
57 to 58	1	32
59 to 60	1	20
61 to 62	6	5
63 to 64	0	19
65 to 66	0	9
67 to 68	0	27
69 to 70	2	8
71 to 72	0	15
73 to 74	0	21
75 to 76	0	5
77 to 78	0	29
79 to 80	10	34
81 to 82	3	15
83 to 84	0	19
85 to 86	0	0
87 to 88	12	49
89 to 90	0	20
91 to 92	3	12

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, 13 are women's.

96 lines from women, 632 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

13 women and 29 men in the cast. 1 women and 11 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 9 of 744. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 91 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 16% of the words (1,227), men 84% (6,664). Women have 13% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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

4 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: John Frankenheimer (man)
Written by: David Mamet (man), J. D. Zeik (man)
Story by: J. D. Zeik (man)
Produced by: Frank Mancuso Jr. (man)
Shot by: Robert Fraisse (man)
Edited by: Antony Gibbs (man)
Music by: Elia Cmiral (man)
Production design by: Michael Z. Hanan (man)
Costumes by: May Routh (woman)
Cast by: Margot Capelier (woman), Cathy Sandrich Gelfond (woman), Amanda Mackey (woman)