Passes the Bechdel test

The Favourite

Name: The Favourite
Released: 2018

2018. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
12 women characters. 8 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 28 scenes out of 138.
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

In the early 18th century, England is at war with France; nevertheless, duck-racing and pineapple-eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing and Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots. As the politics of war become quite time-consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen's companion. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to fulfill her ambitions and she will not let woman, man, politics, or rabbit stand in her way.

Released: 21 Dec 2018
Genres: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.5 / 10
Metascore: 91 / 100
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. 188 wins & 352 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Sarah 262 lines, woman
Anne 228 lines, woman
Abigail 205 lines, woman
Harley 103 lines, man
Godolphin 58 lines, man
Masham 30 lines, man
Marlborough 9 lines, man
Sally 8 lines, woman
Mae 7 lines, woman
Mrs Meg 6 lines, woman

Full cast, 61 people

Emma Stone as Abigail
Olivia Colman as Queen Anne
Rachel Weisz as Lady Sarah
Nicholas Hoult as Harley
Joe Alwyn as Masham
Mark Gatiss as Lord Marlborough
James Smith as Godolphin
Jenny Rainsford as Mae
Emma Delves as Queen's Maid
Faye Daveney as Sarah's Maid
Paul Swaine as Wanking Man
Jennifer White as Mrs. Meg
Lilly-Rose Stevens as Sally
Denise Mack as Kitchen Servant
Willem Dalby as Central Tory Booker
Edward Aczel as Earl of Stratford
Carolyn Saint-Pé as Madame Tournée
John Locke as Eviction Courtier
Everal Walsh as Servant, Upstairs
Timothy Innes as Footman #1
Basil Eidenbenz as Footman #2
James Melville as Footman #3
Declan Wyer as Footman #4
Anthony Dougall as Queen's Doctor
Ben English as Page #1
Peter Brookes as Page #2
Wilson Mbomio as Pigeon Boy
Gavin Henderson as Music Teacher
Callum Lewin as Nude Pomegranate Tory
Liam Fleming as Kevin
Angela Hicks as Singing Woman
Martin Pemberton as Fire Eater
Luca Wiseman as Child Orchestra
James Perrin as Child Orchestra
Hana McDowell as Child Orchestra
Sam Kemp as Child Orchestra
Djordje Jovanovic as Child Orchestra
Alexis Bennett as Court Musician (uncredited)
Chris elms as Young Tory (uncredited)
Tim Ingall as Lord Bingley (uncredited)
Alfrun Rose as Kitchen Maid (uncredited)
Keval Shah as Wig (uncredited)
Janette Sharpe as Maid (uncredited)
Luke Thallon as Abigail's Soldier (uncredited)
Jack Veal as Boy (uncredited)
Zenobia Voegele-Downing as Courtier (uncredited)
Emily Vinnicombe as Courtier (uncredited)
Hannah Morley as Courtier (uncredited)
Poppy Lawless as Courtier (uncredited)
Roisin Keogh as Courtier (uncredited)
Elizabeth Ita as Courtier (uncredited)
Errol Clayton as Courtier (uncredited)
Antonia Castilla as Courtier (uncredited)
Samuel Bossman as Courtier (uncredited)
Paul Wingrove as Courtier (uncredited)
Nathan Lang as Courtier (uncredited)
Frank Gordon as Courtier (uncredited)
Isaura Barbé-Brown as Courtier (uncredited)
Phelim Kelly as Courtier (uncredited)
Leigh Dent as Courtier (uncredited)
Kemal Shah as Wig (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 1% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 138

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	1	0
4 to 6	0	0
7 to 9	5	0
10 to 12	26	3
13 to 15	14	20
16 to 18	18	0
19 to 21	2	0
22 to 24	23	0
25 to 27	0	0
28 to 30	19	5
31 to 33	21	1
34 to 36	27	30
37 to 39	29	3
40 to 42	21	6
43 to 45	23	14
46 to 48	17	0
49 to 51	0	0
52 to 54	19	3
55 to 57	19	0
58 to 60	9	10
61 to 63	33	0
64 to 66	19	0
67 to 69	16	11
70 to 72	18	7
73 to 75	7	0
76 to 78	7	4
79 to 81	12	0
82 to 84	13	0
85 to 87	21	0
88 to 90	40	1
91 to 93	1	1
94 to 96	16	18
97 to 99	10	3
100 to 102	3	1
103 to 105	21	15
106 to 108	25	5
109 to 111	10	8
112 to 114	46	6
115 to 117	14	0
118 to 120	14	0
121 to 123	7	0
124 to 126	13	0
127 to 129	16	26
130 to 132	26	3
133 to 135	9	1
136 to 138	17	5

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.

ABIGAIL: This mud stinks. SALLY: They shit in the street round here. Political commentary they call it. SALLY: Go through here. Clean yourself up. ABIGAIL: Thank you so much.

ANNE: How was my speech? SARAH: You were brilliant. ANNE: Did I have a lisp? SARAH: You don’t lisp.

ANNE: I am ready for the Russian ambassador. SARAH: Who did your make up? ANNE: We went for something dramatic. Do you like it? SARAH: You look like a badger.

SALLY: Morning. ABIGAIL: Oh hello. I was thinking of playing cards later if you would like to join me. SALLY: Sounds brill. The old bag says you are to scrub the floor until she can see her toothless fat face in it. SALLY: Sorry.

SARAH: It is a brilliant plan. Queen Anne, you agree? ANNE: The people expect it to be over. SARAH: We all want it over, but wishing does not make it so Anne. We could sue for peace, but we will not get it. ANNE: It does help.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 78 are women's.

727 lines from women, 210 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

12 women and 18 men in the cast. 8 women and 10 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 9 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 (6,915), men 26% (2,414). Women have 78% 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

6 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 54% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos (man)
Written by: Tony McNamara (man), Deborah Davis (woman)
Produced by: Lee Magiday (woman), Ceci Dempsey (woman), Ed Guiney (man), Yorgos Lanthimos (man)
Shot by: Robbie Ryan (man)
Edited by: Yorgos Mavropsaridis (man)
Production design by: Fiona Crombie (woman)
Costumes by: Sandy Powell (woman)
Cast by: Dixie Chassay (woman)