Passes the Bechdel test

Surrogates

Name: Surrogates
Released: 2009

2009. Directed by Jonathan Mostow, written by Michael Ferris and John Brancato and Robert Venditti.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
12 women characters. 12 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 178.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

The film

People are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates -- sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It's an ideal world where crime, pain, fear and consequences don't exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon and must abandon his own surrogate, risking his life to unravel the mystery.

Released: 25 Sep 2009
Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.3 / 10
Metascore: 45 / 100
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Greer 239 lines, man
Peters 111 lines, woman
Maggie 40 lines, woman
Stone 27 lines, man
Canter 24 lines, man
Bobby 16 lines, man
Brandon 13 lines
Boy/Canter 12 lines, man
Prophet 12 lines, man
Generic/Greer 11 lines, man

Full cast, 47 people

Bruce Willis as Tom Greer
Radha Mitchell as Jennifer Peters
Rosamund Pike as Maggie Greer
James Cromwell as Dr. Lionel Canter
Ving Rhames as Prophet
Helena Mattsson as JJ the Blonde
Boris Kodjoe as Andrew Stone
Ian Novick as Andre
Devin Ratray as Bobby Saunders
Jack Noseworthy as Miles Strickland
Danny F Smith as Victim
Jeffrey De Serrano as Armando
Michael Cudlitz as Colonel Brendon
Trevor Donovan as Surrie / Greer
Jennifer Alden as Landlady
Michael Philip as Uniformed Cop
James Francis Ginty as Canter
Andrew Haserlat as Undergrad #1
Justin Goodrich as Undergrad #2
Rachel Sterling as Assistant
Meta Golding as Female Counsel
Taylor Cole as Female Lawyer
Jordan Belfi as Victor Welch
J.L. Highsmith as Steinberg
Lisa Hernandez as Female Newscaster
Kirk Hawkins as Male Newscaster
Nicholas Purcell as Pulaski / Commando
Max Murphy as Captain
Victor Webster as Lopez
Valerie Azlynn as Bridget
David Klefeker as Cop
Chad Williams as Salesman
Mike Randy as Hunk
Michael DeMello as Gate Guard
Ron Murphy as Pedestrian
David Conley as Miller
Bruce-Robert Serafin as Bud
Cody Christian as Boy Canter
Todd Cahoon as Brian
Ella A. Thomas as Lisa
Gabriel Olds as Agent #1
Eamon Brooks as Agent #2
Rick Malambri as Clerk
Anya Monzikova as Beautiful Woman
Taylar Eliza as Receptionist
Melissa Barker as Surrogate (uncredited)
Michael O'Toole as Hirosuke

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 12% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 178

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 4	0	0
5 to 8	1	2
9 to 12	0	0
13 to 16	1	4
17 to 20	3	6
21 to 24	11	17
25 to 28	4	5
29 to 32	0	0
33 to 36	8	13
37 to 40	10	22
41 to 44	8	18
45 to 48	19	16
49 to 52	3	6
53 to 56	11	22
57 to 60	1	4
61 to 64	0	3
65 to 68	0	1
69 to 72	1	5
73 to 76	3	2
77 to 80	1	8
81 to 84	16	34
85 to 88	10	16
89 to 92	0	9
93 to 96	0	29
97 to 100	0	20
101 to 104	13	17
105 to 108	13	28
109 to 112	22	14
113 to 116	0	21
117 to 120	2	6
121 to 124	5	13
125 to 128	0	0
129 to 132	0	2
133 to 136	9	10
137 to 140	0	4
141 to 144	4	18
145 to 148	1	2
149 to 152	0	0
153 to 156	0	1
157 to 160	2	16
161 to 164	0	8
165 to 168	0	0
169 to 172	1	0
173 to 176	0	1
177 to 178	3	3

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.

MALE LAWYER: We're from the legal department. FEMALE LAWYER: Hope you don't mind if we sit in. PETERS: Not at all. I didn't get your names--?

BRIDGET: --we're talking turquoise! I wouldn't carry a purse that color, much less a whole new skin. MAGGIE: BRB, I just gotta change. Little black dress or red bustier? BRIDGET: Bustier.

MAGGIE: Not like it's an issue. ON TV - the VSI LOGO. PETERS: Knock knock. Greer blinks at her.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 30 are women's.

186 lines from women, 426 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

12 women and 25 men in the cast. 12 women and 25 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 7 of 696. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 74 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 (2,553), men 76% (7,907). Women have 30% 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

4 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Jonathan Mostow (man)
Written by: John Brancato (man), Michael Ferris (man)
Produced by: Max Handelman (man), David Hoberman (man), Todd Lieberman (man)
Shot by: Oliver Wood (man)
Edited by: Kevin Stitt (man)
Music by: Richard Marvin (man)
Production design by: Jeff Mann (man), David E. Scott (man)
Costumes by: April Ferry (woman)
Cast by: Janet Hirshenson (woman), Michelle Lewitt (woman), Jane Jenkins (woman)