Passes the Bechdel test

The Believer

Name: The Believer
Released: 2001

2001. Directed by Henry Bean, written by Henry Bean and Mark Jacobson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
6 women characters. 7 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 117.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

The film

"The Believer" explores a Jewish student's private journey to understand the meaning of Judaism in his life. Set in New York City, the Plot follows a morally confused young adult struggling with the conflict between his beliefs and his heritage. "The Believer" examines themes of religion, family, and self-loathing. It is a psychological examination into the forces of intolerance, both on the individual and society as a whole.

Released: 23 Aug 2001
Genres: Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.1 / 10
Metascore: 75 / 100
Awards: 6 wins & 10 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Danny 354 lines, man
Carla 89 lines, woman
Guy 43 lines, man
Kyle 37 lines, man
Curtis 35 lines, man
Billings 33 lines, man
Lina 27 lines, woman
Miriam 24 lines, woman
Mrs. Moebius 22 lines, woman
Carleton 16 lines, man

Full cast, 36 people

Ryan Gosling as Danny Balint
Summer Phoenix as Carla Moebius
Theresa Russell as Lina Moebius
Billy Zane as Curtis Zampf
Garret Dillahunt as Billings
A.D. Miles as Guy Danielsen
Glenn Fitzgerald as Drake
Elizabeth Reaser as Miriam
Joshua Harto as Kyle
Ronald Guttman as Danny's Father
Heather Goldenhersh as Linda
Joel Marsh Garland as O.L.
Kris Eivers as Carleton
Dean Strober as Stuart
Judah Lazarus as Avi
Tommy Nohilly as Whit
Sig Libowitz as Rav Zingesser
Jacob Green as Young Danny
Frank Winters as Young Stuart
Peter Meadows as Orthodox Student
Chuck Ardezzone as Chuck
Lucille Patton as Mrs. Frankel
Michael Marcus as Polish Man
Roberto Gari as Ancient Jew
John Wills Martin as Hate Counselor
David Bailey as Judge
Tibor Feldman as Rabbi Greenwalt
Jordan Lage as Roger Brand
Sascha Knopf as Cindy Pomerantz
Henry Bean as Ilio Manzetti
Christopher Kadish as Steve
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as First Waiter
Michael Port as TV Reporter
Jack Drummond as Old Coot
James McCaffrey as Young Avi
Tovah Feldshuh as Woman in Shul at Rosh Hashannah

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 117

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	0	23
4 to 6	0	2
7 to 9	2	1
10 to 12	0	9
13 to 15	23	60
16 to 18	2	7
19 to 21	12	7
22 to 24	1	0
25 to 27	10	7
28 to 30	0	27
31 to 33	0	72
34 to 36	0	9
37 to 39	9	22
40 to 42	0	27
43 to 45	5	26
46 to 48	2	4
49 to 51	20	18
52 to 54	2	10
55 to 57	0	6
58 to 60	0	6
61 to 63	2	46
64 to 66	0	6
67 to 69	0	22
70 to 72	10	13
73 to 75	18	26
76 to 78	4	25
79 to 81	0	18
82 to 84	0	2
85 to 87	31	43
88 to 90	8	15
91 to 93	1	19
94 to 96	15	16
97 to 99	5	8
100 to 102	2	20
103 to 105	0	11
106 to 108	4	1
109 to 111	4	6
112 to 114	2	12
115 to 117	3	16

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.

LINDA: Yes! CARLA: Who's Linda?

CARLA: No. LINA: Carla! CARLA: Just after midnight. Five past... But don't come through the house, they'll hear you. I'm in the back bedroom, second floor. Climb onto the …

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 23 are women's.

197 lines from women, 668 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

6 women and 22 men in the cast. 7 women and 24 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 27 of 936. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 130 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 21% of the words (2,004), men 79% (7,556). Women have 23% 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 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Henry Bean (man)
Written by: Henry Bean (man)
Story by: Mark Jacobson (man), Henry Bean (man)
Produced by: Susan Hoffman (woman), Eric Sandys (gender not listed), Frank M. Calo (gender not listed), Peter Hoffman (gender not listed), Christopher Roberts (man)
Shot by: Jim Denault (man)
Edited by: Mayin Lo (gender not listed), Lee Percy (man)
Music by: Joel Diamond (gender not listed)
Production design by: Susan Block (woman)
Costumes by: Jennifer Newman (woman), Alex Alvarez (gender not listed)
Cast by: Adrienne Stern (woman)