Passes the Bechdel test

The Box

Name: The Box
Released: 2009

2009. Directed by Richard Kelly, written by Richard Kelly and Richard Matheson.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
12 women characters. 5 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 213.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

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

The film

Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. However, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world, someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

Released: 06 Nov 2009
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 5.6 / 10
Metascore: 47 / 100
Awards: 1 win & 6 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Norma 220 lines, woman
Arthur 177 lines, man
Arlington 71 lines, man
Walter 53 lines, man
Jim 27 lines, man
Dana 26 lines, woman
Bevilacqua 22 lines, man
Reston 18 lines, man
Wendell 16 lines
Cahill 15 lines, man

Full cast, 82 people

Cameron Diaz as Norma Lewis
James Marsden as Arthur Lewis
Frank Langella as Arlington Steward
James Rebhorn as Norm Cahill
Holmes Osborne as Dick Burns
Sam Oz Stone as Walter Lewis
Gillian Jacobs as Dana
Celia Weston as Lana Burns
Lisa K. Wyatt as Rhonda Martin
Mark S. Cartier as Martin Teague
Kevin Robertson as Wendell Matheson
Michele Durrett as Rebecca Matheson
Ian Kahn as Vick Brenner
John Magaro as Charles
Ryan Woodle as Jeffrey Carnes
Basil Hoffman as Don Poates
Robert Harvey as NASA Executive
Gentry Lee as Chief Engineer
Andrew Levitas as Black Op
Gabriel Field as Waiter
Frank Ridley as Detective Starrs
Daniel Stewart Sherman as Police Officer #1
Matthew C. Flynn as Police Officer #2
Patrick Canty as Police Officer #3
Sam Blumenfeld as Timothy
Kevin DeCoste as Malcolm
Mary Klug as Female Neighbor
Allyssa Brooke as Suzanne Weller
Danielle Heaton as Estelle
Michael Zegen as Garcin
Rachael Hunt as Inez
Cheryl McMahon as Female 911 Operator
Evelina Turen as Deborah Burns
Bill Buell as Dr. Earl Stupe
Paul Marini as Santa Claus
Donald Warnock as Doctor Y
W. Kirk Avery as Doctor Z
Donald J. Hewitt Jr. as Employee
Floyd Richardson as Employee
David R. McDonough as Employee
Rick L'Heureux as Chase Employee
Nick Cairis as Chase Employee
Robert Denton as Chase Employee
Paul Locke as Chase Employee
Danny DeMiller as Chase Employee
Jenna Lamia as Diane Carnes (voice)
Winstead Barnes as NASA Executive (uncredited)
Greg Berney as Drama Class Kid (uncredited)
Jodie Brunelle as 911 Operator (uncredited)
Danny Carney as Soldier (uncredited)
Danny Connelly as Library Employee (uncredited)
William Conrad as Self (voice) (uncredited)
John Curie as Nosey Neighbor's Grandson (uncredited)
John E. Daniel as Reporter (uncredited)
Paige Flannery as Student (uncredited)
Steve Flynn as Guest at Wedding Reception (uncredited)
John Franchi as Lurker (uncredited)
Jay Gates as Reporter (uncredited)
Patrick Mel Hayes as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Benjamin Healy as Bartender (uncredited)
Mark Hetherington as Homeless Library Patron (uncredited)
Steven Howitt as NASA Scientist (uncredited)
Jessica P Knight as NASA Employee (uncredited)
Jon Korzeniowski as State Trooper (uncredited)
Sal Lizard as Santa Claus (uncredited)
Tina Mann as NASA Scientist (uncredited)
CJ McBath as Photographer (uncredited)
Alex Milne as Child at Bus Stop (uncredited)
Jason Mulcahy as Edgy & Hip Family Guest (uncredited)
Roxanne Nichols as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Ed O'Keefe as Norma's Abductor (uncredited)
Richard Pacheco as Joel Reidy (uncredited)
Greg Paul as NASA Engineer (uncredited)
Dan Perrault as The Valet (uncredited)
Drew Rose as Groomsman (uncredited)
Mustafa Speaks as Employee (uncredited)
Vyvian B. Stevens as Brainwashed Follower (uncredited)
Franz Strassmann as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
David Struffolino as NASA Rocket Scientist (uncredited)
Marc Vos as Banquet Waiter (uncredited)
Jamie Christopher White as Hotel Follower (uncredited)
Deborah Rush as Clymene Steward

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 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 213

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	9	11
6 to 10	19	17
11 to 15	14	13
16 to 20	0	8
21 to 25	6	12
26 to 30	4	6
31 to 35	6	5
36 to 40	10	20
41 to 45	8	1
46 to 50	14	13
51 to 55	10	11
56 to 60	15	25
61 to 65	18	12
66 to 70	11	11
71 to 75	10	10
76 to 80	4	11
81 to 85	8	12
86 to 90	13	9
91 to 95	1	2
96 to 100	0	5
101 to 105	0	9
106 to 110	0	7
111 to 115	0	4
116 to 120	0	12
121 to 125	2	3
126 to 130	12	18
131 to 135	0	2
136 to 140	3	4
141 to 145	0	11
146 to 150	0	3
151 to 155	4	15
156 to 160	6	14
161 to 165	9	18
166 to 170	1	0
171 to 175	3	11
176 to 180	3	14
181 to 185	5	32
186 to 190	2	12
191 to 195	10	4
196 to 200	7	6
201 to 205	3	4
206 to 210	0	15
211 to 213	0	2

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

NORMA: Put on your hat... A young girl, DANA is waiting at the end of the sidewalk. She is wrapped head-to-toe in warm clothes... EARMUFFS and SCAR… DANA: Hi Mrs. Lewis. NORMA: Good morning, Dana.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 37 are women's.

250 lines from women, 434 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

12 women and 30 men in the cast. 5 women and 16 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 2 of 773. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 51 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 34% of the words (3,281), men 66% (6,265). Women have 37% 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

5 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 30% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Richard Kelly (man)
Written by: Richard Kelly (man)
Produced by: Richard Kelly (man), Dan Lin (man), Sean McKittrick (man)
Shot by: Steven Poster (man)
Edited by: Sam Bauer (gender not listed)
Music by: Win Butler (man), Régine Chassagne (woman), Owen Pallett (man)
Production design by: Alec Hammond (man)
Costumes by: April Ferry (woman)
Cast by: Mary Vernieu (woman), Venus Kanani (woman), Suzanne Smith Crowley (woman)