Passes the Bechdel test
The Life of David Gale
2003. Directed by Alan Parker, written by Charles Randolph.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
49 women characters. 10 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 4 scenes out of 182. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
In 1994, David Gale is a successful intellectual and the head of the philosophy department at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also an active member of DeathWatch, an advocacy group campaigning against capital punishment. During a graduation party, Gale encounters Berlin, a graduate student who has been expelled from the school. She seduces Gale while he is drunk. After a night of rough sex, she falsely accuses Gale of rape. Gale is arrested, but the charges are dropped when Berlin mysteriously disappears. His marriage, career, and reputation are all destroyed. Gale also loses custody over his son. As Gale struggles with alcoholism, his close friend and fellow activist Constance Harraway tries to help him recover. Constance is later found raped and murdered. The physical evidence points to Gale, and the killer replicated a torture technique which Gale had mentioned in his written works. Gale is convicted of rape and murder and is sentenced to death. Several years later, the journalist Bitsey Bloom investigates the case shortly before Gale's expected execution. Bloom finds a videotaped record of Constance's death, which reveals that she was not murdered. Constance was dying from terminal leukemia and she committed suicide. The murder was staged. Bloom tries and fails to prevent Gale's execution. Publicized evidence of Constance's suicide later causes a media and political uproar about the miscarriage of justice. But Bloom soon learns that there were further secrets in Gale's story.
- Released
- 21 Feb 2003
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, Mystery
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 31 / 100
- Awards
- 3 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Bitsey 199 lines, woman
- David 174 lines, man
- Zack 127 lines, man
- Constance 79 lines, woman
- Belyeu 35 lines, man
- Berlin 31 lines, woman
- Goth Girl 25 lines, woman
- Grover 18 lines, man
- Roberts 14 lines, woman
- Governor Hardin 13 lines, man
Full cast, 117 people
- Kevin Spacey as David Gale
- Kate Winslet as Bitsey Bloom
- Laura Linney as Constance Hallaway
- Rhona Mitra as Berlin
- Gabriel Mann as Zack Stemmons
- Matt Craven as Dusty Wright
- Jim Beaver as Duke Grover
- Cleo King as Barbara Kreuster
- Leon Rippy as Braxton Belyeu
- Melissa McCarthy as Nico the Goth Girl
- Lee Ritchey as Joe Mullarkey
- Brandy Little as Motel Waitress
- Jesse De Luna as Supervising Guard
- Vernon Grote as Door Guard
- Larissa Wolcott as Jo Edna the Babysitter
- Sean Hennigan as Ross
- Charles Sanders as John
- Marco Perella as TV Host
- Michael Crabtree as Governor Hardin
- Julio Cesar Cedillo as Officer Ramirez
- Christopher Meister as Officer Hasermann
- Cliff Stephens as University President
- James Huston as DeathWatch Chief / TV Reporter
- Chris Warner as Hospital Orderly
- Julia Lashae as New Homeowner
- Matthew Posey as Inmate Cook
- Lynn Mathis as Warden
- Robert Lott as Bullhorn Protester
- Mark Voges as Bullhorn Protester
- Katherine Willis as Bullhorn Protester
- Amparo Moreno as Sharon's Maid
- Janis Kelly as Liú
- Barbara Petricini-Buxton as TV Reporter
- Asia De Marcos as TV Reporter
- Amparo García as TV Reporter
- Kirk Sisco as TV Reporter
- Cassandra L. Small as TV Reporter
- Oliver Tull as TV Reporter
- George Haynes as Interviewee
- Kathy Lamkin as Interviewee
- Constance Jones as Reporter A.J. Roberts
- Cindy Waite as Margie
- Kimberly Tortorice as Grad Student
- Katie Lott as Berlin's Classmate
- Noah Truesdale as Jamie
- Chuck Cureau as Greer
- Mike Fontaine as TV Assistant Director
- Elizabeth Gast as Sharon Gale
- Chris Drewy as Radio Shed Executive
- Katina Potts as Rosie
- Katherine James as Beth
- Cindy Michelle as Constance's Doctor
- Jennifer Dorsey as College Girl
- Maurice Moore as Belyeu's Clerk
- Brenda Sendejo as Belyeu's Assistant
- Rick Morrow as Section 1835 Guard
- Julia Kay-Laskowski as TV Soprano
- Donald Braswell as TV Tenor
- Jack Gould as Chaplain
- Jack Watkins as Photographer
- Gwyn Little as Religious Woman
- Patrick Fries as News Cameraman
- Pilar Ferreiro as Barcelona Neighbor
- Claudia Parker as Mail Girl
- Joan Gispert as Guillermo
- Mark Richardson as Timur
- Justin Lavender as Calaf
- David Dahl as TV Reporter
- Catenya McHenry as TV Reporter
- Brian Orr as TV Reporter
- Michelle Valen as TV Reporter
- Tanya Zieger as TV Reporter
- Nick Dawson as Interviewee
- Steve Flanagin as Interviewee
- Evelyn Lindsey as Interviewee
- T.J. McFarland as Interviewee
- Deborah Abbott as Protestor (uncredited)
- Stacy Lynn Austin as Traveler (uncredited)
- Jerry M. Barker as Concerned Man (uncredited)
- Richard R. Bartholomew as Businessman (uncredited)
- Keith Bright as Texas Governor's Aide (uncredited)
- Ryan Brooks as College Student (uncredited)
- Pei-San Brown as Flight Attendant (uncredited)
- Starla Christian as Party Girl (uncredited)
- Wade Couturiaux as College Student / Activist (uncredited)
- Constance Dasse as Protestor (uncredited)
- Matthew J. Dunn as College Student (uncredited)
- Ken Edwards as State Trooper / Lunch Patron (uncredited)
- Nikki Folsom as Reporter (uncredited)
- Ryan Hancock as Drinking Game Contestant (uncredited)
- Garrett Hargrove as Coffee Boy (uncredited)
- Peyton Hayslip as Doctor (uncredited)
- David Scott Heck as Patient at AA Meeting (uncredited)
- Reda Hicks as Party Guest (uncredited)
- Robert H. Lambert as Airline Pilot (uncredited)
- Gabriel R. Martinez as Reporter (uncredited)
- C.K. McFarland as Carla (uncredited)
- Josh Meyer as Sports Bar Youth (uncredited)
- Brent Mitchell as Governor's Bodyguard (uncredited)
- Cindy Palla as Victim's Mother (uncredited)
- Roger Eduardo Palomino as Background Reporter (uncredited)
- Alan Parker as Partygoer (uncredited)
- Paul A. Partain as Alcoholic (uncredited)
- Keith Poulson as College Student / Activist (uncredited)
- Glen Powell Sr. as Prison Guard (uncredited)
- George Renteria as Protestor (uncredited)
- Nicole R. Roberts as Protester / Party Girl (uncredited)
- Michael Schmid as Protestor (uncredited)
- Ryan Schneider as Protester (uncredited)
- Robin Simmons as Interviewee (uncredited)
- Melanie Stovall as News Magazine Secretary (uncredited)
- Danny Trevino as Salsa Dancer (uncredited)
- Ryan Wickerham as Shooter at Rally (uncredited)
- Michele Williams as Flight Attendant (uncredited)
- Christine Wolf as 6th St. Club Patron (uncredited)
- Willie Wright as Prison Guard (uncredited)
- Jeff Gibbs as Josh
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 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 182
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 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 to 8 | 25 | 3 |
| 9 to 12 | 16 | 13 |
| 13 to 16 | 12 | 11 |
| 17 to 20 | 6 | 12 |
| 21 to 24 | 14 | 38 |
| 25 to 28 | 16 | 13 |
| 29 to 32 | 8 | 35 |
| 33 to 36 | 9 | 4 |
| 37 to 40 | 9 | 1 |
| 41 to 44 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 to 48 | 16 | 27 |
| 49 to 52 | 10 | 23 |
| 53 to 56 | 31 | 11 |
| 57 to 60 | 18 | 22 |
| 61 to 64 | 2 | 3 |
| 65 to 68 | 2 | 5 |
| 69 to 72 | 8 | 4 |
| 73 to 76 | 9 | 13 |
| 77 to 80 | 1 | 6 |
| 81 to 84 | 10 | 13 |
| 85 to 88 | 4 | 5 |
| 89 to 92 | 4 | 2 |
| 93 to 96 | 9 | 10 |
| 97 to 100 | 8 | 14 |
| 101 to 104 | 12 | 13 |
| 105 to 108 | 5 | 8 |
| 109 to 112 | 24 | 22 |
| 113 to 116 | 2 | 1 |
| 117 to 120 | 0 | 3 |
| 121 to 124 | 5 | 5 |
| 125 to 128 | 10 | 11 |
| 129 to 132 | 0 | 0 |
| 133 to 136 | 56 | 31 |
| 137 to 140 | 7 | 5 |
| 141 to 144 | 0 | 2 |
| 145 to 148 | 2 | 2 |
| 149 to 152 | 2 | 0 |
| 153 to 156 | 2 | 2 |
| 157 to 160 | 2 | 1 |
| 161 to 164 | 1 | 0 |
| 165 to 168 | 5 | 0 |
| 169 to 172 | 2 | 2 |
| 173 to 176 | 2 | 3 |
| 177 to 180 | 2 | 3 |
| 181 to 182 | 0 | 8 |
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.
KRUGER: I hear lawyers gleefully saying the words Bloom vs. News Magazine Inc. BITSEY: 'Well, Your Honor, I started to notice that my assignments were evaluated on the basis of my sex.' KRUGER: You've gotta let her go now.
KRUGER: Yes. I, we are hanging up. 'Bye. BITSEY: I'm not baby-sitting.
GOTH GIRL: The totally sick part was where they found the key -- BITSEY: We know, you can save that.
BITSEY: Wanna make a hundred bucks? GOTH GIRL: What do I gotta do?
BITSEY: All right, I'll do it. NICO: I found it. BITSEY: Okay, I want you to wait three minutes before you take it off.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 49 are women's.
390 lines from women, 413 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
49 women and 28 men in the cast. 10 women and 8 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 4 of 834.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 23 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 46% of the words (3,438), men 54% (4,106). Women have 49% 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
14
Two men
20
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 33% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Alan Parker (man)
- Written by
- Charles Randolph (man)
- Produced by
- Alan Parker (man), Nicolas Cage (man)
- Shot by
- Michael Seresin (man)
- Edited by
- Gerry Hambling (man)
- Music by
- Jake Parker (man), Alex Parker (man)
- Production design by
- Geoffrey Kirkland (man)
- Costumes by
- Renee Ehrlich Kalfus (woman)
- Cast by
- Howard Feuer (man), Juliet Taylor (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
7 women, 11 men, 1 not listed
-
Other crew
3 women, 5 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
3 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 3 men
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men
-
Editing
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 33 on average. Men: 45 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Rhona Mitra 26, Kate Winslet 27, Melissa McCarthy 32, Laura Linney 39, Cleo King 40
Men
Gabriel Mann 30, Kevin Spacey 43, Matt Craven 46, Jim Beaver 52, Leon Rippy 53
Exhibit H: the money
It made 78% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $50 million
- Box office
- $39 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 182 scenes and 834 lines of dialogue. How the test works
