Fails the Bechdel test
The Adjustment Bureau
2011. Directed by George Nolfi, written by George Nolfi and Philip K. Dick.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
23 women characters. 7 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
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.
The film
Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? A man glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York the only woman he's ever loved. On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Matt Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt), a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself, the men of The Adjustment Bureau, who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path... or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.
- Released
- 04 Mar 2011
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, Mystery
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7 / 10
- Metascore
- 60 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 9 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- David 333 lines, man
- Elise 133 lines, woman
- Harry 68 lines, man
- Richardson 59 lines, man
- Woman 43 lines, woman
- Charlie 40 lines, man
- Thompson 32 lines, man
- Mccrady 19 lines, man
- Diane Sawyer 7 lines
- Burdensky 6 lines, man
Full cast, 65 people
- Matt Damon as David Norris
- Emily Blunt as Elise Sellas
- John Slattery as Richardson
- Anthony Mackie as Harry Mitchell
- Michael Kelly as Charlie Traynor
- Terence Stamp as Thompson
- Shane McRae as Adrian Troussant, Elise's Fiancé
- Lisa Thoreson as Suburban Mom
- Florence Kastriner as Suburban Mom
- Natalie Carter as Suburban Neighbor
- Phyllis MacBryde as Suburban Neighbor
- Chuck Scarborough as Himself
- Jon Stewart as Jon Stewart
- Kar Fearon as Political Consultant
- RJ Konner as Political Consultant
- Susan D. Michaels as Reporter
- Gregory P. Hitchen as U.S. Coast Guard Officer
- Amanda Warren as Senior Campaign Aide
- Jessica Lee Keller as Lauren, Elise's Best Friend
- Darrell Lenormand as Upstate Farmer
- Michael Bloomberg as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
- Lauren Hodges as Robyn, Campaign Aide
- Gregory Lay as Albert, Campaign Aide
- James Carville as James Carville
- Mary Matalin as Mary Matalin
- Anthony Ruivivar as McCrady
- Laurie Dawn as Norris Supporter
- Christine McLain as Charlie's Assistant, Christine
- Betty Liu as Betty Liu
- Jim Edward Gately as Man in Madison Square Park
- Don Hewitt Sr. as Bus Driver
- Venida Evans as Bus Passenger
- Julie Hays as Susan, RSR Receptionist
- Fabrizio Brienza as Miller
- David Bishins as Burdensky
- Kate Nowlin as Junior Partner
- Rob Yang as Junior Partner
- Jennifer Ehle as Brooklyn Ice House Bartender
- Johnny Cicco as Johnny from Red Hook
- Pedro Pascal as Maitre D' Paul De Santo
- Michael Boyne as New Leaf Waiter
- Peter Epstein as Taxi Driver
- Brian Haley as Police Officer Maes
- Kirsty Meares as Police Sergeant
- Donnie Keshawarz as Donaldson
- Kieran Campion as Donaldson's Aide
- Sandi Carroll as Orthopedic Surgeon
- Daniel Bazile as Newscaster, Daniel Bazile
- Meghan Andrews as Cedar Lake Receptionist
- Sandra Berrios as Court Registrar
- David Alan Basche as Thompson's Aide
- Joel de la Fuente as Thompson's Aide
- Mike DiSalvo as Thompson's Aide
- Dina Cataldi as DMV Clerk
- Jason Kravits as New Yorker in Courthouse Lobby
- Peter Jay Fernandez as County Clerk
- Lawrence Leritz as Court Officer
- Peter Hans Benson as Bureau Headquarters Staff
- Leroy McClain as Bureau Headquarters Staff
- Brit Whittle as Bureau Headquarters Staff
- Wayne Scott Miller as Bureau Headquarters Staff
- Lorenzo Pisoni as Bureau Headquarters Staff
- Bart Wilder as Bureau Headquarters Staff
- Johnathan Hallgrey as Court Officer #2 (uncredited)
- Kyoko Bruguera as Bus Passenger
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 6 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 258
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 6 | 0 | 10 |
| 7 to 12 | 0 | 10 |
| 13 to 18 | 25 | 30 |
| 19 to 24 | 0 | 10 |
| 25 to 30 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 to 36 | 11 | 19 |
| 37 to 42 | 9 | 7 |
| 43 to 48 | 0 | 4 |
| 49 to 54 | 0 | 9 |
| 55 to 60 | 2 | 45 |
| 61 to 66 | 0 | 37 |
| 67 to 72 | 0 | 12 |
| 73 to 78 | 31 | 45 |
| 79 to 84 | 4 | 11 |
| 85 to 90 | 11 | 24 |
| 91 to 96 | 3 | 12 |
| 97 to 102 | 3 | 2 |
| 103 to 108 | 0 | 11 |
| 109 to 114 | 0 | 24 |
| 115 to 120 | 0 | 17 |
| 121 to 126 | 0 | 1 |
| 127 to 132 | 3 | 3 |
| 133 to 138 | 0 | 5 |
| 139 to 144 | 13 | 19 |
| 145 to 150 | 10 | 20 |
| 151 to 156 | 29 | 25 |
| 157 to 162 | 0 | 6 |
| 163 to 168 | 0 | 32 |
| 169 to 174 | 1 | 7 |
| 175 to 180 | 1 | 8 |
| 181 to 186 | 4 | 9 |
| 187 to 192 | 0 | 40 |
| 193 to 198 | 4 | 9 |
| 199 to 204 | 0 | 15 |
| 205 to 210 | 3 | 8 |
| 211 to 216 | 2 | 7 |
| 217 to 222 | 0 | 2 |
| 223 to 228 | 4 | 6 |
| 229 to 234 | 8 | 10 |
| 235 to 240 | 4 | 6 |
| 241 to 246 | 3 | 4 |
| 247 to 252 | 0 | 0 |
| 253 to 258 | 7 | 15 |
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, 25 are women's.
195 lines from women, 599 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
23 women and 40 men in the cast. 7 women and 21 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 27 of 849.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 60 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 19% of the words (2,118), men 81% (8,813). Women have 25% 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
2
Two men
58
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 22% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- George Nolfi (man)
- Written by
- George Nolfi (man)
- Produced by
- Bill Carraro (man), Eric Kripke (man), Michael Hackett (man), Chris Moore (man), George Nolfi (man)
- Shot by
- John Toll (man)
- Edited by
- Jay Rabinowitz (man)
- Music by
- Thomas Newman (man)
- Production design by
- Kevin Thompson (man)
- Costumes by
- Kasia Walicka Maimone (woman)
- Cast by
- Cathy Sandrich Gelfond (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
9 women, 38 men, 10 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 9 men, 17 not listed
-
Sound
3 women, 17 men, 3 not listed
-
Visual Effects
2 women, 4 men, 15 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 6 men, 10 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 11 men, 6 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 6 men, 12 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 2 men, 8 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 44 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Emily Blunt 28, Natalie Carter 34
Men
Anthony Mackie 32, Shane McRae 33, Matt Damon 40, Michael Kelly 41, John Slattery 48, Terence Stamp 72
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $50.2 million
- Box office
- $128 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 258 scenes and 849 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
