Passes the Bechdel test
The Harder They Fall
2021. Directed by Jeymes Samuel, written by Jeymes Samuel and Boaz Yakin.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
11 women characters. 9 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 75. -
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
When outlaw Nat Love discovers that his enemy Rufus Buck is being released from prison he rounds up his gang to track Rufus down and seek revenge. Those riding with him in this assured, righteously new school Western include his former love Stagecoach Mary, his right and left hand men hot-tempered Bill Pickett and fast drawing Jim Beckwourth and a surprising adversary-turned-ally. Rufus Buck has his own fearsome crew, including "Treacherous" Trudy Smith and Cherokee Bill, and they are not a group that knows how to lose.
- Released
- 03 Nov 2021
- Genres
- Action, Drama, Western
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 6.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 68 / 100
- Awards
- Won 1 BAFTA Award. 31 wins & 90 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Nat 115 lines, man
- Rufus Buck 52 lines, man
- Mary 49 lines, woman
- Trudy 46 lines, woman
- Bass Reeves 40 lines, man
- Beckwourth 40 lines, man
- Cherokee Bill 39 lines, man
- Cuffee 38 lines, woman
- Pickett 29 lines, man
- Wiley Escoe 16 lines, man
Full cast, 62 people
- Jonathan Majors as Nat Love
- Idris Elba as Rufus Buck
- Regina King as Trudy Smith
- Zazie Beetz as Stagecoach Mary
- Delroy Lindo as Bass Reeves
- Danielle Deadwyler as Cuffee
- LaKeith Stanfield as Cherokee Bill
- Edi Gathegi as Bill Pickett
- RJ Cyler as Jim Beckwourth
- Deon Cole as Wiley Escoe
- Julio Cesar Cedillo as Jesus Cortez
- Damon Wayans Jr. as Monroe Grimes
- Woody McClain as Clyde Grimes
- Jacobi Howard as Angel
- Tait Fletcher as Biggest Man on the Train
- Dylan Kenin as General Abbott
- Andria B Langston as Bank Teller
- Ernest Marsh as Cowboy
- Chanel Mack as Lady of the Night
- Tracy Obonna as Lady of the Night
- Howard Ferguson Jr. as Prison Lieutenant
- Bonita King as Bank Patron
- Mickey Dolan as Jake Abbott
- DeWanda Wise as Eleanor Love
- Chase W. Dillon as Young Nat
- Marissa Freeman as Lady of the Night
- Sadiqua Bynum as Eleanor Love
- Zacciah Hanson as Prisoner Guard
- DyNiesha Lysette Whitfield as Lady of the Night
- David Hight as Train Server
- Stephanie Hill as Train Passenger
- Vic Browder as Prison Guard
- Ivan Lee Holmes as Shopkeeper
- Michael E. Stogner as Maysville Citizen
- Angie Jenkins as Lady of the Night
- Steve Corona as Maysville Bank Manager
- Peyton Jackson as Woody
- J. Nathan Simmons as Maysville Citizen
- Terrence Clowe as Zeke
- Manny Rubio as Father Esparza
- Mark Rhino Smith as Carson
- Aahkilah Cornelius as Blue Lady
- Michael Beach as Nat's Father (uncredited)
- Nicholas G. Sims as Douglastown Cowboy (uncredited)
- Justin Clarke as Mary's Guard (uncredited)
- Gene Harding as Bartender (uncredited)
- Araxi Lindsey as Tambourine Player
- Alice Smith as Redwood Saloon Singer
- Skylar Fray as Musician (uncredited)
- Moses Kabandana as Cowboy (uncredited)
- Nazario Maisonet as Mansion Gunman/Cowboy (uncredited)
- Markeith McCain as Cowboy/Rufus Buck Gang (uncredited)
- Yolanda Y. Pringle as Shop Owner (uncredited)
- Aaron Rogers as Young Shop Owner (uncredited)
- Wayne Vielot as Cowboy (uncredited)
- Michael Terrell Williams as Sniper (uncredited)
- Deloris Evans as Redwood Citizen (uncredited)
- Phil Ductan as Boxer/Cowboy (uncredited)
- Howard Ray Carter Jr. as Cowboy (uncredited)
- Dennis Cheers as Cowboy (uncredited)
- Tim Cook as Cowboy (uncredited)
- Sanford Kelley as Redwood Farmer
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 75
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 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 to 6 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 to 8 | 0 | 48 |
| 9 to 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 to 12 | 25 | 20 |
| 13 to 14 | 1 | 17 |
| 15 to 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 to 18 | 2 | 1 |
| 19 to 20 | 1 | 16 |
| 21 to 22 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 to 24 | 6 | 13 |
| 25 to 26 | 4 | 27 |
| 27 to 28 | 4 | 10 |
| 29 to 30 | 0 | 5 |
| 31 to 32 | 7 | 29 |
| 33 to 34 | 10 | 18 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 11 |
| 37 to 38 | 12 | 16 |
| 39 to 40 | 19 | 5 |
| 41 to 42 | 10 | 1 |
| 43 to 44 | 9 | 35 |
| 45 to 46 | 2 | 18 |
| 47 to 48 | 13 | 9 |
| 49 to 50 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 to 52 | 1 | 13 |
| 53 to 54 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 to 56 | 0 | 9 |
| 57 to 58 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 to 60 | 2 | 17 |
| 61 to 62 | 1 | 0 |
| 63 to 64 | 0 | 1 |
| 65 to 66 | 0 | 1 |
| 67 to 68 | 0 | 5 |
| 69 to 70 | 6 | 6 |
| 71 to 72 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 to 74 | 0 | 24 |
| 75 to 75 | 5 | 3 |
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.
TELLER: Yes? CUFFEE: I’d like to make a withdrawal. TELLER: You have to have an account, ma’am. And, well... I’d recommend a bank in Jericho or even Redwood for that. CUFFEE: Oh, I’m not talking about that kinda withdrawal, ma’am...
TRUDY: Kill her. MARY: Trudy Smith is mine.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 27 are women's.
143 lines from women, 392 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
11 women and 30 men in the cast. 9 women and 14 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 556.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 55 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 29% of the words (1,900), men 71% (4,660). Women have 27% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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
7
Two men
37
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 12 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 20% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Jeymes Samuel (man)
- Written by
- Jeymes Samuel (man), Boaz Yakin (man)
- Produced by
- JAŸ-Z (man), James Lassiter (man), Lawrence Bender (man), Jeymes Samuel (man)
- Shot by
- Mihai Malaimare Jr. (man)
- Edited by
- Tom Eagles (man)
- Production design by
- Martin Whist (man)
- Costumes by
- Antoinette Messam (gender not listed)
- Cast by
- Victoria Thomas (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
3 women, 8 men, 12 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 6 men, 12 not listed
-
Other crew
3 women, 13 men, 2 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 13 men, 2 not listed
-
Production
3 women, 6 men, 1 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 1 men, 6 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 40 on average. Men: 42 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Zazie Beetz 30, Danielle Deadwyler 39, Regina King 50
Men
RJ Cyler 26, LaKeith Stanfield 30, Jonathan Majors 32, Edi Gathegi 42, Idris Elba 49, Deon Cole 49, Delroy Lindo 68
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 75 scenes and 556 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
