Passes the Bechdel test

Step Back, Doors Closing

Name: Step Back, Doors Closing
Released: 2024

2024. Directed by Carter Ward, written by Carter Ward.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
5 women characters. 3 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 5 scenes out of 65.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

The film

When two open-hearted young adults spend an accidental weekend together in DC, they discover more about their beliefs, each other, and themselves than they bargained for.

Released: 27 Jun 2024
Genres: Romance
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Ryan 430 lines, man
Julisa 421 lines, woman
Sierra 26 lines, woman
Muhammad 16 lines
Host 10 lines, man
Ryan’S Friend 9 lines
Kesang 8 lines, woman
Middle Seat Passenger 6 lines
Chef Concierge 4 lines
Front Desk Clerk 4 lines

Full cast, 13 people

Carmen Berkeley as Julisa
Reilly Walters as Ryan
Michelle Macedo as Sierra
Ashley Romans as Kesang
Mershad Torabi as Mohammed
Janae Palmer as Filly from New York
Al Sotto as Restaurant Server
Steven C. Fisher as Middle Seat Passenger
Geri Courtney-Austein as Kristen
Barney Fitzpatrick as Chef Concierge
Emmanuel Taye as Homeless Man
Cassie Anderson as Front Desk Clerk
Frank Hobbs as Ryan's Friend (voice)

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 65

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	1	0
3 to 4	5	0
5 to 6	3	0
7 to 8	0	7
9 to 10	0	1
11 to 12	0	0
13 to 14	29	28
15 to 16	3	5
17 to 18	12	13
19 to 20	26	23
21 to 22	7	11
23 to 24	7	10
25 to 26	9	8
27 to 28	7	4
29 to 30	6	2
31 to 32	22	24
33 to 34	35	22
35 to 36	29	34
37 to 38	14	14
39 to 40	15	15
41 to 42	15	15
43 to 44	0	0
45 to 46	5	5
47 to 48	31	10
49 to 50	13	12
51 to 52	28	32
53 to 54	27	29
55 to 56	26	27
57 to 58	34	39
59 to 60	23	24
61 to 62	20	21
63 to 64	3	2
65 to 65	4	5

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.

JULISA: Tiny sweaters.. Terrorist attack.. ELDERLY WOMAN: You two are going to make wonderful children.

JULISA: It’s so nice to meet you, and thank you for the closet space. KESANG: Nice to meet you too.

JULISA: Do you have a bathroom I can use? KESANG: Just around the corner.

JULISA: Sierra! SIERRA: Julie! We’re doing shots! JULISA: What are they? SIERRA: Half Jameson, half butterscotch schnapps. Tastes like pancakes.

SIERRA: What up, love birds? JULISA: Good morning, Sierra. Have fun with your filly last night? SIERRA: Before or after you shady bounced? JULISA: We texted you.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 51 are women's.

459 lines from women, 442 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

5 women and 3 men in the cast. 3 women and 1 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 10 of 954. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 19 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 48% of the words (4,946), men 52% (5,292). Women have 51% 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

None of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 0% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Carter Ward (man)
Written by: Carter Ward (man)
Produced by: Carter Ward (man), Kathryn Crabtree (gender not listed), Jane Hollon (gender not listed)
Shot by: Jimmy Ferguson (gender not listed)
Edited by: Gordon Antell (man)
Music by: Paloma Estevez (gender not listed)
Production design by: Sofia Wong (gender not listed)
Costumes by: Phoenix Steele (gender not listed), Taylor Gray Burke (gender not listed)
Cast by: Matthew Glasner (man)