Fails the Bechdel test

The Killer

Name: The Killer
Released: 2023

2023. Directed by David Fincher, written by Alexis Nolent and Luc Jacamon and Andrew Kevin Walker.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

2 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
16 women characters. 10 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.

Second opinion

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

The film

A man solitary and cold, methodical and unencumbered by scruples or regrets, the killer waits in the shadows, watching for his next target. And yet the longer he waits, the more he thinks he's losing his mind, if not his cool. A brutal, bloody and stylish noir story of a professional assassin lost in a world without a moral compass, this is a case study of a man alone, armed to the teeth and slowly losing his mind.

Released: 10 Nov 2023
Genres: Action, Adventure, Crime
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.7 / 10
Metascore: 73 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 46 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

The Killer 183 lines, man
The Expert 41 lines, woman
Hodges 19 lines, man
Leo 19 lines, man
Dolores 15 lines, woman
Claybourne 12 lines, man
The Brute 10 lines, man
Handsome Waiter 8 lines, man
Magdala 8 lines, woman
Man 7 lines, man

Full cast, 48 people

Michael Fassbender as The Killer
Tilda Swinton as The Expert
Charles Parnell as The Lawyer - Hodges
Arliss Howard as The Client - Claybourne
Kerry O'Malley as Dolores
Sophie Charlotte as Magdala
Emiliano Pernia as Marcus
Gabriel Polanco as Leo
Sala Baker as The Brute
Endre Hules as The Target
Bernard Bygott as Bodyguard 1
Monique Ganderton as The Dominatrix
Daran Norris as Deep South Lounge Greeter
Nikki Dixon as Airline Ticket Agent
Paloma Palacio Colon as Female Doctor
Lía Lockhart as Fedex Clerk
Arturo Duvergé as Taxi Dispatcher
Génesis Estévez as United Ticket Agent
Leroy Edwards III as Bodyguard 2
Kellan Rhude as Business Man
Sacha Beaubier as Slender Suited Man
Branden Mitch as Thug 1
Brandon Morales as Thug 2
Kyrstal Ortiz as Female Rental Agent
Erik Hellman as Handsome Waiter
Carlos Rogelio Diaz as Gym Janitor
Ilyssa Fradin as City National Bank Manager
Julia Rowley as Gym Greeter
Jack Kesy as Salesman
Eric Tolzmann as Maitre d'
Jirus Tillman as Fedex Man
Kev Morris Sr. as Trainer
Brett C. Johnson as Rental Car Agent
Tariq Azikiue as Male Doctor
Jérôme Keen as Day Doorman
Stéphane Vasseur as Night Doorman
François Patissier as Photocopy Shop Owner
Dzianis Chpoutalau as Man Shouting on Cell Phone
Cécile Coves as Air France Lounge Greeter
Claire Patronikn as Mother
Lila Espinasse as Child Crying
Sara Mezouar as Mother at McDonalds
Zacharia Mezouar as Child at McDonalds
Marie Bessière as Mother
Nino Viard as Child
Antoine Matichard as Small Child Playing
Anna Cosmao as Female Gallery Keeper
Alexandra Holzhammer as Female Bar Manager

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 7 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 6% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 334

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 7	0	5
8 to 14	0	11
15 to 21	0	9
22 to 28	0	8
29 to 35	0	18
36 to 42	0	2
43 to 49	0	3
50 to 56	0	4
57 to 63	0	5
64 to 70	0	3
71 to 77	0	0
78 to 84	0	6
85 to 91	0	4
92 to 98	0	5
99 to 105	0	1
106 to 112	0	1
113 to 119	1	2
120 to 126	2	3
127 to 133	2	1
134 to 140	0	0
141 to 147	0	0
148 to 154	0	0
155 to 161	0	0
162 to 168	9	16
169 to 175	0	0
176 to 182	0	0
183 to 189	1	10
190 to 196	0	21
197 to 203	1	2
204 to 210	0	5
211 to 217	0	2
218 to 224	7	36
225 to 231	8	8
232 to 238	0	3
239 to 245	0	1
246 to 252	0	4
253 to 259	0	6
260 to 266	0	9
267 to 273	0	7
274 to 280	0	2
281 to 287	0	1
288 to 294	0	2
295 to 301	34	12
302 to 308	7	9
309 to 315	2	11
316 to 322	0	2
323 to 329	0	18
330 to 334	0	5

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, 21 are women's.

74 lines from women, 283 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

16 women and 27 men in the cast. 10 women and 14 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 96 of 380. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 95 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 25% of the words (1,321), men 75% (3,902). Women have 21% of the lines, so their lines run longer 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

3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 29% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: David Fincher (man)
Written by: Andrew Kevin Walker (man)
Produced by: Peter Mavromates (man), William Doyle (man), Ceán Chaffin (woman)
Shot by: Erik Messerschmidt (man)
Edited by: Kirk Baxter (man)
Music by: Trent Reznor (man), Atticus Ross (man)
Production design by: Donald Graham Burt (man)
Costumes by: Cate Adams (woman)
Cast by: Laray Mayfield (woman)