Fails the Bechdel test

The Gambler

Name: The Gambler
Released: 2014

2014. Directed by Rupert Wyatt, written by William Monahan and James Toback.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
7 women characters. 3 of them speak.
No 2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

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

The film

Jim Bennett is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank, a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett's future. As his relationship with a student deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance.

Released: 25 Dec 2014
Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6 / 10
Metascore: 55 / 100
Awards: 1 win & 3 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Jim 408 lines, man
Neville 86 lines, man
Frank 59 lines, man
Amy 45 lines, woman
Mister Lee 40 lines, man
Roberta 35 lines, woman
Ed 30 lines, man
Lamar 30 lines, man
Jeweler 23 lines, man
Big Ernie 14 lines, man

Full cast, 31 people

Mark Wahlberg as Jim Bennett
John Goodman as Frank
Brie Larson as Amy Phillips
Michael Kenneth Williams as Neville Baraka
George Kennedy as Ed
Jessica Lange as Roberta
Richard Schiff as Jeweler
Andre Braugher as Dean Fuller
Emory Cohen as Dexter
Domenick Lombardozzi as Big Ernie
Anthony Kelley as Lamar Allen
Alvin Ing as Mister Lee
Da'Vone McDonald as Neville's Muscle
Griffin Cleveland as Young Jim
Omar Leyva as Valet
Steve Park as Number 2
Chil Kong as Blackjack Dealer #1
Amin Joseph as Neville's Bookkeeper
Cjon Saulsberry as Neville's Posse
Teebone Mitchell as Neville's Posse
Lauren Weedman as Banker
Leland Orser as Larry Jones
Jasmond Carroll as Neville's Posse
Ria Wilkinson as Neville's Posse
Chanon Finley as Pole Dancer
Jacob Bertrand as Young Boy (uncredited)
Simon Rhee as Mister Lee's Heavy #2
Natalija Ugrina as Masseuse (uncredited)
Brooklynne James as Exotic Dancer Gigi (uncredited)
Erika Jordan as Erotic Dancer Salene (uncredited)
Paul Han as Underground Gambler (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 85

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 2	0	0
3 to 4	0	5
5 to 6	0	51
7 to 8	0	22
9 to 10	0	4
11 to 12	0	4
13 to 14	5	64
15 to 16	10	18
17 to 18	0	8
19 to 20	0	3
21 to 22	11	60
23 to 24	0	16
25 to 26	0	36
27 to 28	0	2
29 to 30	14	11
31 to 32	16	2
33 to 34	0	2
35 to 36	8	13
37 to 38	0	0
39 to 40	0	13
41 to 42	3	30
43 to 44	3	4
45 to 46	0	4
47 to 48	7	11
49 to 50	0	0
51 to 52	0	11
53 to 54	1	4
55 to 56	4	3
57 to 58	0	32
59 to 60	0	2
61 to 62	0	16
63 to 64	0	27
65 to 66	6	24
67 to 68	0	8
69 to 70	0	78
71 to 72	5	54
73 to 74	0	3
75 to 76	0	10
77 to 78	0	37
79 to 80	0	13
81 to 82	0	0
83 to 84	0	41
85 to 85	0	0

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, 11 are women's.

93 lines from women, 746 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

7 women and 20 men in the cast. 3 women and 15 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 127 of 860. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 155 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 9% of the words (1,158), men 91% (11,333). Women have 11% 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

2 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 13% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Rupert Wyatt (man)
Written by: William Monahan (man)
Produced by: Mark Wahlberg (man), David Winkler (man), Irwin Winkler (man), Stephen Levinson (man), Robert Chartoff (man)
Shot by: Greig Fraser (man)
Edited by: Pete Beaudreau (man)
Music by: Jon Brion (man), Theo Green (man)
Production design by: Keith P. Cunningham (man)
Costumes by: Jacqueline West (woman)
Cast by: Sheila Jaffe (woman)

The crew, department by department

Other crew

0 women, 15 men, 3 not listed
Sound

0 women, 13 men
Production

2 women, 9 men
Art

2 women, 3 men
Costume & Make-Up

1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
Directing

1 women, 3 men
Camera

1 women, 2 men
Writing

0 women, 2 men

Women
Men
Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 45 on average. Men: 52 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Brie Larson 25, Jessica Lange 65

Men

Emory Cohen 24, Domenick Lombardozzi 38, Mark Wahlberg 43, Michael Kenneth Williams 48, Andre Braugher 52, Richard Schiff 59, John Goodman 62, George Kennedy 89

Exhibit G: the money

It made 1.6 times what it cost.

Budget: $25 million
Box office: $39.2 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 85 scenes and 860 lines of dialogue. How the test works

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