Fails the Bechdel test
The Game
1997. Directed by David Fincher, written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
11 women characters. 5 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
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) lives a calculated, reclusive life haunted by his father's suicide. For his forty-eighth birthday, his erratic brother, Conrad Van Orton (Sean Penn), gifts him a mysterious voucher for Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Following an intense psychological evaluation, Nicholas finds his secure world methodically dismantled. His finances vanish, his mansion is vandalized, and assassins hunt him through San Francisco alongside Christine (Deborah Kara Unger), a waitress who is deeply entangled in the conspiracy. Trapped in a labyrinth of psychological warfare, Nicholas is stripped of control and driven to absolute paranoia. He ultimately confronts the orchestrators on a skyscraper rooftop, where a tragic miscalculation forces him to face his deepest, fatalistic trauma.
- Released
- 12 Sep 1997
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.7 / 10
- Metascore
- 63 / 100
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Schuyler 380 lines, man
- Christine 163 lines, woman
- David 63 lines, man
- Feingold 45 lines, man
- Elizabeth 25 lines, woman
- Bernard Shaw 14 lines, man
- Rasta Man 14 lines, man
- Girl 13 lines, woman
- Plympton 13 lines, man
- Barnett 10 lines, man
Full cast, 68 people
- Michael Douglas as Nicholas Van Orton
- Sean Penn as Conrad Van Orton
- Deborah Kara Unger as Christine
- James Rebhorn as Jim Feingold
- Peter Donat as Samuel Sutherland
- Carroll Baker as Ilsa
- Anna Katarina as Elizabeth
- Armin Mueller-Stahl as Anson Baer
- Charles Martinet as Nicholas' Father
- Scott Hunter McGuire as Young Nicholas
- Florentine Mocanu as Nicholas' Mother
- Elizabeth Dennehy as Maria
- Caroline Barclay as Maggie
- Daniel Schorr as Daniel Schorr
- John Aprea as Power Executive
- Harrison Young as Obsequious Executive
- Kimberly Russell as Cynthia, CRS Receptionist
- Joe Frank as CRS Data Collating Technician
- James Brooks as James the Bartender
- Gerry Becker as New Member Ted
- Jarion Monroe as New Member Victor
- Tommy Flanagan as Solicitor / Taxi Driver
- Bill Flannery as Tubercular Commuter
- Kat Kilkenny as Rattle Gatherer
- John Cassini as Man in Airport
- Harris Savides as Ankles
- Aaron Lucich as City Club Waiter
- Victor Talmadge as City Club Maitre D'
- Marc Siegler as City Club Waiter
- André Brazeau as Heart Attack Performer
- Keena Turner as Officer Hicks
- Carlos Hoy as Paramedic Graves
- Edward Campbell as Paramedic Stern
- Sean Lanthier as Paramedic Kirkland
- Curtis Vanterpool as Ambulance EMT
- Jay Gordon as Triage Doctor
- Jeffrey Michael Young as Officer Walker
- Owen Masterson as Pickpocket
- Yuji Okumoto as Nikko Hotel Manager
- Hideo Kimura as Nikko Hotel Bellhop
- Rachel Flanagan as Nikko Hotel Maid
- Mark Boone Junior as Shady Private Investigator
- Joy Ann Ryan as Kaleigh Baer
- Peter Davidian as Mr. Garcia
- Jack Kehoe as Lieutenant Sullivan
- Christopher John Fields as Detective Boyle
- Linda Manz as Christine's Roomate Amy
- Vic Ferreira as Assassin Mobubbi
- Duffy Gaver as Assassin Brodi
- Bob Stephenson as Assassin Kartmann
- Sean Moloney as Assassin Rankin
- John Hammil as U.S. Embassy Counselor
- Rachel Steinberg as Sheraton Desk Clerk
- George Maguire as Sheraton Manager
- Trish Summerville as Hot Waitress
- Jason Kristofer as Teen Thug
- Lily Froehlich as New Moon Cafe Manager
- Tammy Koehler as Tammy Fisher
- Michael Lynwood as Michael Fisher
- Alex Lynwood as Alex Fisher
- Charles Branklyn as CRS Guard
- Spike Jonze as Airbag EMT Beltran
- Michael Massee as Airbag EMT Galliano
- Sara Davallou as Rachel
- Stephen Cowee as Mel
- J. Anthony Pena as CRS Security Guard (uncredited)
- Gypsy Boots as Man in Diner (uncredited)
- Bob Dini as Wealthy club member (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
We couldn't read who says what in this film's script, so there's no dialogue chart for it yet.
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, 27 are women's.
222 lines from women, 608 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
11 women and 38 men in the cast. 5 women and 4 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 5 of 876.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 79 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 24% of the words (1,988), men 76% (6,127). Women have 27% 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
0
Two men
33
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 11 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 28% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- David Fincher (man)
- Written by
- John Brancato (man), Michael Ferris (man)
- Produced by
- Ceán Chaffin (woman), Steve Golin (man)
- Shot by
- Harris Savides (man)
- Edited by
- James Haygood (man)
- Music by
- Howard Shore (man)
- Production design by
- Jeffrey Beecroft (man)
- Costumes by
- Michael Kaplan (man)
- Cast by
- Don Phillips (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
4 women, 13 men, 9 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 8 men, 13 not listed
-
Sound
7 women, 14 men, 3 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 9 men, 10 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 7 men, 6 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 2 men, 5 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 1 men, 6 not listed
- 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
Deborah Kara Unger 31, Anna Katarina 37, Carroll Baker 66
Men
Sean Penn 37, Charles Martinet 41, James Rebhorn 49, Michael Douglas 52, Armin Mueller-Stahl 66, Peter Donat 69
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.2 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $50 million
- Box office
- $109 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 1 scenes and 876 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
