Fails the Bechdel test

Suspect Zero

Name: Suspect Zero
Released: 2004

2004. Directed by E. Elias Merhige, written by Zak Penn and Billy Ray.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
7 women characters. 6 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

When Dallas FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway violates serial killer Raymond Starkey's civil rights during an unorthodox arrest, Starkey goes free and Mackelway is demoted to a remote branch of the agency in Albuquerque. His first day on the job, Mackelway investigates the murder of traveling salesman Harold Speck, which turns out to be the first of three seemingly random killings. Perhaps they are not random at all. The last to die is Mackelway's nemesis, Raymond Starkey. The assignment consumes him, his past mistakes haunt him, and his head throbs constantly as he tries to find the link between the victims that will lead him to their killer while the case becomes increasingly gruesome and patently personal. This does not go unnoticed by his unflappable partner Fran Kulok, who knows of Mackelway's past and the demons that afflict him. Like Mackelway, she becomes drawn into the labyrinth of chilling clues, all of which point to the enigmatic Benjamin O'Ryan. O'Ryan clearly has a connection to the murders, a connection he flaunts. Quite possibly, he may also harbor a sinister link to Mackelway.

Released: 27 Aug 2004
Genres: Crime, Horror, Mystery
Rated: R
IMDb: 5.7 / 10
Metascore: 37 / 100
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Mackelway 213 lines, man
O'Ryan 145 lines, man
Fran 73 lines, woman
Charlton 64 lines, man
Katie 16 lines, woman
Speck 15 lines, man
Dyson 14 lines, man
Trooper 11 lines, man
Dolly 7 lines, woman
Jan 7 lines, woman

Full cast, 45 people

Aaron Eckhart as Thomas Mackelway
Ben Kingsley as Benjamin O'Ryan
Carrie-Anne Moss as Fran Kulok
Harry Lennix as Rich Charleton
Kevin Chamberlin as Harold Speck
Julian Reyes as Highway Patrolman
Keith Campbell as Raymond Starkey
Chloe Alexa Ibanez as Loretta
Ellen Blake as Dolly
William B. Johnson as Mel
Jerry Gardner as Sheriff Harry Dylan
Daniel Patrick Moriarty as Bud Granger
Curtis Plagge as Jumbo
Nicole DeHuff as Katie Potter
William Mapother as Bill Grieves
Donn Owens as FBI Agent
Brady Coleman as Dyson
Frank Collison as Piper
Catherine Haun as Joan Speck
Lea Franklin as Mother
Angelina Torres as Neighbor Lady
David Ode as Bartender
David House as Truth or Consequences Cop
Miguel Zapata as Charlie
Jane E. Goold as Kathleen
Boots Southerland as Vic
Benjamin Petry as Little Boy
Jenny Cleveland as Little Boy's Mother
Buddy Joe Hooker as Suspect Zero
Kent Kirkpatrick as Cora
Dorsey Ray as Project Director
Michael Chapman as Prosecutor #1
Marya Beauvais as Prosecutor #2
Letta E. Gorder as Reporter
Ed Dames as Icarus Trainer
Aaron Donahue as Remote Viewer
Kevin Skousen as Icarus Agent
Cecilia L. Webb as Gospel Singer #1
Hope Bell as Gospel Singer #2
Richard Barela as Bar Patron (uncredited)
Xanndra Boehler as State Trooper (uncredited)
Jamie Haqqani as FBI Agent (uncredited)
Elizabeth Latham as Vendor (uncredited)
Daniel Smith as State Trooper (uncredited)
Robert Towne as Professor Dates (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 199

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 5	1	34
6 to 10	4	13
11 to 15	0	13
16 to 20	9	14
21 to 25	13	10
26 to 30	0	19
31 to 35	0	5
36 to 40	0	4
41 to 45	3	13
46 to 50	1	6
51 to 55	9	21
56 to 60	1	15
61 to 65	0	0
66 to 70	3	14
71 to 75	1	0
76 to 80	0	0
81 to 85	7	2
86 to 90	14	14
91 to 95	0	0
96 to 100	1	4
101 to 105	6	17
106 to 110	0	0
111 to 115	6	54
116 to 120	0	2
121 to 125	0	0
126 to 130	0	0
131 to 135	0	0
136 to 140	1	0
141 to 145	0	0
146 to 150	0	31
151 to 155	21	25
156 to 160	9	15
161 to 165	0	3
166 to 170	1	35
171 to 175	0	22
176 to 180	0	16
181 to 185	2	2
186 to 190	0	9
191 to 195	0	0
196 to 199	7	60

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, 20 are women's.

120 lines from women, 492 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

7 women and 19 men in the cast. 6 women and 10 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 72 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 16% of the words (916), men 84% (4,821). Women have 20% 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

5 of the 16 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 22% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: E. Elias Merhige (man)
Written by: Zak Penn (man), Billy Ray (man)
Story by: Zak Penn (man)
Produced by: Paula Wagner (woman), Gaye Hirsch (gender not listed), E. Elias Merhige (man)
Shot by: Michael Chapman (man)
Edited by: John Gilroy (man), Robert K. Lambert (man)
Music by: Clint Mansell (man)
Production design by: Ida Random (woman)
Costumes by: Lizz Wolf (gender not listed), Mary Claire Hannan (woman)
Cast by: Deborah Aquila (woman), Tricia Wood (woman)