Passes the Bechdel test
Six Degrees of Separation
1993. Directed by Fred Schepisi, written by John Guare.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
23 women characters. 10 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 12 scenes out of 86. -
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
New Yorkers Louisa "Ouisa" Kittredge (Stockard Channing) and John Flanders "Flan" Kittredge (Donald Sutherland) are upper-class private art dealers, pretentious but compassionate. Their prized possession is a double-sided Kandinsky: one side represents control; the other, chaos. They relay a story to their friends and acquaintances that becomes legendary over time: their encounter with a young Black stranger who came stumbling upon their front door one evening as they were courting Geoffrey Miller (Sir Ian McKellen), an important investor who could make them wealthy beyond their dreams. The young man, Paul Poitier (Will Smith), had just arrived in the city when he was mugged outside their building; he had a minor knife wound in his abdomen. He was a friend of the Kittredges' children, who are attending Harvard; more importantly, he's the son of actor and Director Sidney Poitier. Tomorrow, Paul is meeting up with his father, who is in town directing a movie of "Cats". Beyond the attraction of talking Paul into getting them roles in the movie, Ouisa, Flan, and Geoffrey all end up being captivated by Paul's charm, charisma, pedigree, and eloquence. After tending to his wounds, the Kittredges invite him to stay the night. Their encounter with him ends up being an all-too-familiar story that leads them on a search for him after he leaves their house the next morning. In that search, Ouisa in particularly starts to critically study their lives and how much compassion they actually have.
- Released
- 08 Dec 1993
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama, Mystery
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 72 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 6 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ouisa 363 lines, woman
- Flan 251 lines, man
- Paul 211 lines, man
- Elizabeth 41 lines, woman
- Rick 40 lines, man
- Geoffrey 37 lines, man
- Tess 33 lines, woman
- Kitty 25 lines, woman
- Larkin 25 lines, man
- Trent 21 lines, man
Full cast, 76 people
- Stockard Channing as Ouisa
- Will Smith as Paul
- Donald Sutherland as Flan
- Ian McKellen as Geoffrey
- Mary Beth Hurt as Kitty
- Bruce Davison as Larkin
- Richard Masur as Dr. Fine
- Anthony Michael Hall as Trent
- Heather Graham as Elizabeth
- Eric Thal as Rick
- Anthony Rapp as Ben
- Osgood Perkins as Woody
- Catherine Kellner as Tess
- J.J. Abrams as Doug
- Joe Pentangelo as Police Officer
- Lou Milione as Hustler
- Brooke Hayward as Connie
- Peter Duchin as Sandy
- Sam Stoneburner as Carter
- Maeve McGuire as Polly
- Kelly Bishop as Adele
- John Cunningham as John
- Vasek Simek as Frank the Doorman
- Chuck Close as Andy
- Kazuko as Jeannie
- Adele Chatfield-Taylor as Paula
- Maggie Burke as Loft Party Guest
- Edmund Genest as Loft Party Guest
- Michael Stanley Kirby as Loft Party Guest
- David Callegati as Art Dealer
- Daniel von Bargen as Detective
- John Rowe Jr. as Usher
- Elizabeth Rossa as Bride
- Diane Hartford as Julia
- Frank O'Brien as Eddie
- Ann McDonough as Teacher
- José Rabelo as Elevator Man #2
- Todd Alcott as Concert Goer
- Joanne Noble as Concert Goer
- Miriam Fond as Nurse
- Annie Meisels as Doug's Girl
- Mitch Kolpan as Policeman
- Michele Greco as Workman
- Tony Zazula as Rainbow Room Captain
- Arthur McGill as Hansom Cab Driver
- Susan Tabor as Posh Couple
- Paul Schmidt as Posh Couple
- Carolyn Groves as Cocktail Party Guest
- Jeannine Moore as Cocktail Party Guest
- Tim Saunders as Cocktail Party Guest
- David Tice as Cocktail Party Guest
- Redman Maxfield as Fred
- Margaret Eginton as Mary
- Margaret Thomson as Grandfather at Baptism
- Vince O'Brien as Grandfather at Baptism
- Anne Swift as Guest at Baptism
- Richmond Hoxie as Guest at Baptism
- Kitty Carlisle as Mrs. Bannister
- Madhur Jaffrey as Guest of Honor
- Arthur Brooks as Mrs. Bannister's Guest
- Jacqueline Bertrand as Mrs. Bannister's Guest
- Lisa Crosby as Mrs. Bannister's Guest
- Nancy Duerr as Mrs. Bannister's Guest
- Brian McConnachie as Mrs. Bannister's Guest
- Angela Thornton as Mrs. Bannister's Guest
- Robert Trumbull as Mrs. Bannister's Guest
- Richard Whiting as Mrs. Bannister's Guest
- Cleo King as Lieutenant Price
- Hélène Cardona as Cocktail Party Guest (uncredited)
- Andrea Conte as Theatre Woman (uncredited)
- Beatrice de Borg as Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)
- Garlan Green as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
- Stuart Crawford Hult as Bartender (uncredited)
- Doris McCarthy as Cocktail Party Guest (uncredited)
- Ronald Rand as Head Waiter (uncredited)
- Jill Tompkins as Woman in Airport (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 86
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 | 10 | 9 |
| 3 to 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 to 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 7 to 8 | 12 | 10 |
| 9 to 10 | 36 | 48 |
| 11 to 12 | 94 | 167 |
| 13 to 14 | 4 | 4 |
| 15 to 16 | 23 | 30 |
| 17 to 18 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 to 20 | 1 | 6 |
| 21 to 22 | 2 | 1 |
| 23 to 24 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 to 26 | 10 | 12 |
| 27 to 28 | 8 | 7 |
| 29 to 30 | 17 | 22 |
| 31 to 32 | 0 | 3 |
| 33 to 34 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 7 |
| 37 to 38 | 14 | 18 |
| 39 to 40 | 20 | 17 |
| 41 to 42 | 4 | 8 |
| 43 to 44 | 2 | 1 |
| 45 to 46 | 5 | 31 |
| 47 to 48 | 4 | 2 |
| 49 to 50 | 3 | 4 |
| 51 to 52 | 5 | 7 |
| 53 to 54 | 2 | 7 |
| 55 to 56 | 16 | 25 |
| 57 to 58 | 16 | 20 |
| 59 to 60 | 6 | 3 |
| 61 to 62 | 3 | 6 |
| 63 to 64 | 0 | 21 |
| 65 to 66 | 7 | 6 |
| 67 to 68 | 9 | 6 |
| 69 to 70 | 1 | 3 |
| 71 to 72 | 8 | 8 |
| 73 to 74 | 16 | 3 |
| 75 to 76 | 21 | 25 |
| 77 to 78 | 53 | 68 |
| 79 to 80 | 7 | 4 |
| 81 to 82 | 12 | 2 |
| 83 to 84 | 9 | 9 |
| 85 to 86 | 2 | 2 |
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.
OUISA: My god! The Kandinsky! 0UISA runs into the living room. SHE can see by the discoloration on that wall that a painting is missing. OUISA Y: It's gone! Call the police!
OUISA -: Rich people can do something for you even if you're not sure what it is`you want them to do. THEY turn at the sound of applause. THE BRIDE a… OUISA: Should we? CONNIE: Not on your life. CONNIE pulls OUISA back down to the table.
OUISA: Do we have a story to tell you! KITTY: Do we have a story to tell you!
KITTY: We are going to be in the movie of Cats. OUISA puts down her white wine. OUISA: You tell your story first.
OUISA: Have you talked to your kids? KITTY: Can't get through.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 42 are women's.
474 lines from women, 645 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
23 women and 28 men in the cast. 10 women and 17 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 28 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 39% of the words (6,355), men 61% (9,741). Women have 42% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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
30
Two men
83
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 10 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 44% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Fred Schepisi (man)
- Written by
- John Guare (man)
- Produced by
- Arnon Milchan (man), Fred Schepisi (man)
- Shot by
- Ian Baker (man)
- Edited by
- Peter Honess (man)
- Music by
- Jerry Goldsmith (man)
- Production design by
- Patrizia von Brandenstein (woman)
- Costumes by
- Judianna Makovsky (woman)
- Cast by
- Ellen Chenoweth (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
1 women, 3 men, 5 not listed
-
Production
1 women, 4 men, 1 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 0 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
3 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men
-
Other crew
1 women, 0 men, 1 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 40 on average. Men: 40 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Heather Graham 23, Mary Beth Hurt 47, Stockard Channing 49
Men
Will Smith 25, Anthony Michael Hall 25, Eric Thal 28, Richard Masur 45, Bruce Davison 47, Ian McKellen 54, Donald Sutherland 58
Exhibit H: the money
It made 42% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $15 million
- Box office
- $6.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 86 scenes and 1,190 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
