Fails the Bechdel test

Spartan

Name: Spartan
Released: 2004

2004. Directed by David Mamet, written by David Mamet.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
21 women characters. 8 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.

Second opinion

Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.

The film

In the US-government's special ops, Scott is a shooter, not a planner, doing the job without regard to quaint or obsolete convention. When a Harvard undergrad goes missing (the daughter of a US leader), it's Scott who applies the pressure, first to her boyfriend, then to a madam whose cathouse is the initial stop en route to a white slavery auction in Dubai. The abductors may not know the girl's identity, but once they figure it out, she's doomed. Deadly double crosses force Scott to become a planner. Through it all, earnest TV newscasters read the drivel they're handed.

Released: 12 Mar 2004
Genres: Action, Crime, Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.5 / 10
Metascore: 60 / 100
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Scott 371 lines, man
Miller 61 lines, man
Anton 51 lines, man
Burch 31 lines, man
Laura 25 lines, woman
Stoddard 25 lines, man
Avi 23 lines, man
Blake 23 lines, man
Assani 22 lines, man
Zimmer 13 lines, man

Full cast, 76 people

Val Kilmer as Scott
Derek Luke as Curtis
William H. Macy as Stoddard
Tia Texada as Jackie Black
Ed O'Neill as Burch
Kristen Bell as Laura Newton
Johnny Messner as Grace
Clark Gregg as Miller
Lionel Mark Smith as Colonel Blane
Aaron Stanford as Michael Blake
Saïd Taghmaoui as Tariq Asani
Bob Jennings as Grace's Aide
Clara Mamet as Billy's Daughter
Jeremie Campbell as Cadre Candidate
Annie Morgan as Secret Service Agent
Sophia Adella Luke as Agent
Alexandra Kerry as Bartender
Andy Davoli as Zimmer
Natalija Nogulich as Nadya
Mark Pellegrino as Convict
Gail Silver as Pharmacist
Virginia Pereira as TV Anchor Woman
Matt Malloy as Mr. Reese
Deborah Bartlett as Mrs. Newton
Moshe Ivgy as Avi
Zosia Mamet as Bedouin Woman
Sandra Lindquist as Swedish Reporter
Lauren Bowles as Entertainment Reporter (uncredited)
Yasmine Hanani as Arabic Girl (uncredited)
Camden Munson as Bicycle Boy (uncredited)
David Paymer as TV News Anchor (uncredited)
J.J. Johnston as Night Club Manager
Ron Butler as Headquarters Agent
Steven Culp as Gaines
Vincent Guastaferro as Naylor
Robert Bella as Davio
Lana Bilzerian as Undercover Agent
Margot Farley as Young Whore
Deb Martin as Debriefer
Linda Kimbrough as Donny
Ektimal Shbib as Stewardess
Jennifer Ritchkoff as Marine Captain
Stephen Greif as Business Man
Michael Kuroiwa as Swat Team Member
Shireen Kadivar as Arab Woman (uncredited)
Christopher Tandon as Professor Gerald Sloan (uncredited)
Tony Mamet as Parker
Chris LaCentra as Cpl. Sattler
Scott Barry as Cadre Team Leader
Renato Magno as Grossler
Mark Fitzgerald as Training Facility Guard
Geoff Pierson as Pearce
Jim Frangione as Stakeout Agent
Danny Hovanesian as Stakeout Driver
Norm Compton as Essex House Man #1
Chino Binamo as Essex House Man #2
Rabbi Mordecai Finley as Cadre Operator
Jonathan Rossetti as Medic
Robert Castro as State Police Liaison Officer
Richard L. Friedman as Crew Chief
David Aranovich as Cadre Technician
Jody Snider as Harvard Square Reporter
Morris Lamore as Billy
Christopher Kaldor as Yitzik
Nasser Faris as Customs Official (as Al Faris)
Kick Gurry as Jones
Damon Caro as Balcony Shooter
Ken Moreno as Bodyguard #1
J.J. Perry as Bodyguard #2
Michael Hilow as Perimeter Guard
Steve Martinez as Gate Keeper #1
Max Daniels as Gate Keeper #2
Neil Pepe as News Cameraman
Tim Fleming as Night Sun Operator
Marc-Allen Barker as Pilot
Chelle Cerceo as Marine Flight Crew Chief

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 62

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	7
3 to 4	2	28
5 to 6	0	0
7 to 8	0	65
9 to 10	0	21
11 to 12	1	29
13 to 14	15	69
15 to 16	16	36
17 to 18	0	34
19 to 20	0	6
21 to 22	0	1
23 to 24	3	15
25 to 26	0	26
27 to 28	0	18
29 to 30	1	46
31 to 32	1	39
33 to 34	0	16
35 to 36	0	21
37 to 38	2	7
39 to 40	1	36
41 to 42	0	41
43 to 44	0	24
45 to 46	0	1
47 to 48	2	14
49 to 50	6	3
51 to 52	7	30
53 to 54	1	10
55 to 56	0	18
57 to 58	0	8
59 to 60	17	23
61 to 62	16	33

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, 11 are women's.

91 lines from women, 725 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

21 women and 45 men in the cast. 8 women and 17 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 9 of 856. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 121 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 11% of the words (833), men 89% (6,739).

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

Directed by: David Mamet (man)
Written by: David Mamet (man)
Produced by: David Bergstein (man), Moshe Diamant (man), Art Linson (man), Elie Samaha (man)
Shot by: Juan Ruiz Anchía (man)
Edited by: Barbara Tulliver (woman)
Music by: Mark Isham (man)
Production design by: Gemma Jackson (woman)
Costumes by: Shay Cunliffe (woman)
Cast by: Cassandra Kulukundis (woman)