Fails the Bechdel test
Solaris
2002. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Stanislaw Lem and Steven Soderbergh.
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
Grieving psychologist Chris Kelvin is sent to investigate a lonely space station orbiting the mysterious planet Solaris, where terrified crewmembers are experiencing a host of strange phenomena, including impossibly halcyon visitors that seem all too human. Once aboard, he confronts an unfathomable power that could hold the key to mankind's deepest dreams and darkest nightmares.
- Released
- 27 Nov 2002
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 6.2 / 10
- Metascore
- 67 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 11 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Kelvin 219 lines, man
- Rheya 133 lines, woman
- Snow 79 lines, man
- Sartorius 42 lines, man
- Gibarian 19 lines, man
- A Man 1 lines, man
- Solaris 1 lines
- Well-Dressed Bureaucrat 1 lines
Full cast, 18 people
- George Clooney as Chris Kelvin
- Natascha McElhone as Rheya
- Viola Davis as Gordon
- Jeremy Davies as Snow
- Ulrich Tukur as Gibarian
- Michael Ensign as Friend
- John Cho as DBA Emissary
- Morgan Rusler as DBA Emissary
- Shane Skelton as Gibarian's Son
- Donna Kimball as Mrs. Gibarian
- Elpidia Carrillo as Friend
- Kent Faulcon as Patient
- Lauren Cohn as Patient
- Jennie Baek as Passenger (uncredited)
- Tony Clemons as Dinner Guest (uncredited)
- Annie Morgan as Nurse (uncredited)
- Antonio Rochira as Party Guest (uncredited)
- Jude S. Walko as City Dweller (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 120
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 | 1 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 18 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 30 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 2 |
| 19 to 21 | 10 | 12 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 32 |
| 25 to 27 | 1 | 1 |
| 28 to 30 | 5 | 5 |
| 31 to 33 | 8 | 6 |
| 34 to 36 | 13 | 16 |
| 37 to 39 | 4 | 25 |
| 40 to 42 | 5 | 4 |
| 43 to 45 | 3 | 3 |
| 46 to 48 | 1 | 4 |
| 49 to 51 | 1 | 10 |
| 52 to 54 | 14 | 9 |
| 55 to 57 | 17 | 30 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 9 |
| 61 to 63 | 8 | 25 |
| 64 to 66 | 5 | 5 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 2 |
| 70 to 72 | 9 | 14 |
| 73 to 75 | 6 | 7 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 2 |
| 79 to 81 | 13 | 12 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 18 |
| 85 to 87 | 3 | 4 |
| 88 to 90 | 1 | 1 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 1 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 1 |
| 97 to 99 | 2 | 5 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 1 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 3 |
| 106 to 108 | 2 | 2 |
| 109 to 111 | 1 | 11 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 21 |
| 115 to 117 | 0 | 3 |
| 118 to 120 | 1 | 3 |
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, 27 are women's.
133 lines from women, 360 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
6 women and 9 men in the cast. 1 women and 3 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 57 of 495.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 56 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 24% of the words (1,437), men 76% (4,544). Women have 27% 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
0
Two men
22
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Steven Soderbergh (man)
- Written by
- Steven Soderbergh (man)
- From the novel by
- Stanisław Lem (man)
- Produced by
- James Cameron (man), Rae Sanchini (woman), Jon Landau (man)
- Shot by
- Steven Soderbergh (man)
- Edited by
- Steven Soderbergh (man)
- Music by
- Cliff Martinez (man)
- Production design by
- Philip Messina (man)
- Costumes by
- Milena Canonero (woman)
- Cast by
- Debra Zane (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
5 women, 17 men, 13 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 6 men, 27 not listed
-
Lighting
1 women, 6 men, 18 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 7 men, 12 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 10 men, 6 not listed
-
Production
5 women, 5 men, 5 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
-
Editing
1 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 35 on average. Men: 41 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Natascha McElhone 32, Viola Davis 37
Men
John Cho 30, Jeremy Davies 33, George Clooney 41, Ulrich Tukur 45, Michael Ensign 58
Exhibit G: the money
It made 64% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $47 million
- Box office
- $30 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 120 scenes and 495 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
