Passes the Bechdel test

The Beguiled

Name: The Beguiled
Released: 2017

2017. Directed by Sofia Coppola, written by Sofia Coppola and Thomas Cullinan and Albert Maltz.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
7 women characters. 8 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 11 scenes out of 110.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

The film

Three years into the American Civil War, in 1864, the dilapidated mansion of Miss Martha Farnsworth's Seminary for Young Ladies is still running, occupied by the matriarch, a teacher, and five students in Spanish-moss-draped Virginia. However, when a young student stumbles upon Corporal John McBurney, a wounded Union deserter on the verge of death, the already frail balance of things will be disrupted, as the hesitant headmistress decides to take him in to heal from his injury. Little by little, as the unwelcome guest arouses an uneasy sexual excitation among the women of the secluded boarding school, it is not before long that they will find themselves competing for the alluring man's favour. Undoubtedly, this handsome devil is a manipulator; nevertheless, will the ladies stay forever beguiled by his charm?

Released: 30 Jun 2017
Genres: Drama, History, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.3 / 10
Metascore: 77 / 100
Awards: 5 wins & 29 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Miss Martha 184 lines, woman
Mcburney 160 lines, man
Amy 69 lines, woman
Edwina 68 lines, woman
Alicia 46 lines, woman
Jane 31 lines, woman
Emily 21 lines, woman
Marie 16 lines, woman
Captain 3 lines, man
Girls 3 lines, woman

Full cast, 12 people

Colin Farrell as Corporal McBurney
Nicole Kidman as Miss Martha
Kirsten Dunst as Edwina
Elle Fanning as Alicia
Oona Laurence as Amy
Angourie Rice as Jane
Addison Riecke as Marie
Emma Howard as Emily
Wayne Péré as Captain
Matt Story as Confederate Soldier
Joel Albin as Cavalry Man
Eric Ian as Confederate Soldier (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 110

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 3	14	14
4 to 6	17	1
7 to 9	38	0
10 to 12	0	0
13 to 15	6	1
16 to 18	6	3
19 to 21	1	0
22 to 24	10	0
25 to 27	5	0
28 to 30	14	5
31 to 33	23	14
34 to 36	8	5
37 to 39	24	20
40 to 42	2	0
43 to 45	31	3
46 to 48	21	1
49 to 51	16	9
52 to 54	13	6
55 to 57	0	0
58 to 60	13	12
61 to 63	12	8
64 to 66	3	0
67 to 69	25	13
70 to 72	1	0
73 to 75	12	2
76 to 78	27	1
79 to 81	8	10
82 to 84	12	4
85 to 87	5	8
88 to 90	25	8
91 to 93	0	0
94 to 96	4	7
97 to 99	28	1
100 to 102	0	0
103 to 105	0	0
106 to 108	16	8
109 to 110	0	0

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.

MISS MARTHA: What is it, Miss? ALICIA: I just wondered if there’s anything I can do to help? MISS MARTHA: There is nothing you can do here. You have enough studies and other work to keep you well occupied. ALICIA: I only thought to help.

ALICIA: Are we almost done?! EMILY: Almost... this is the last row.

EDWINA: Just a moment, Miss. EDWINA: Where do you think you’re going in my jade earrings? MARIE: Oh Miss Edwina, don’t be hateful. Everyone is dressing up today. EDWINA: Not in my jewelry, they’re not.

MISS MARTHA: Miss Jane? JANE: Yes, ma’am.

AMY: Look, Miss Martha! MISS MARTHA: Now lean on the cane and your good leg. Don’t put any weight on your bad leg.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 73 are women's.

440 lines from women, 164 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

7 women and 4 men in the cast. 8 women and 3 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 606. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 5 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 74% of the words (4,527), men 26% (1,586). Women have 73% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Run the other way, for men, the film scores 0 out of 3.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

8 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 39% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Sofia Coppola (woman)
Written by: Sofia Coppola (woman)
From the novel by: Thomas Cullinan (man)
Produced by: Sofia Coppola (woman), Youree Henley (man)
Shot by: Philippe Le Sourd (man)
Edited by: Sarah Flack (woman)
Music by: Christian Mazzalai (man), Thomas Mars (man), Laurent Brancowitz (man), Deck d'Arcy (man)
Production design by: Anne Ross (woman)
Costumes by: Stacey Battat (woman)
Cast by: Courtney Bright (woman), Nicole Daniels (woman)