Fails the Bechdel test

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Name: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Released: 2015

2015. Directed by Guy Ritchie, written by Guy Ritchie and Lionel Wigram and Jeff Kleeman.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
5 women characters. 2 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

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.

The film

In the 1960s with the Cold War in play, CIA agent Napoleon Solo successfully helps Gaby Teller defect to West Germany despite the intimidating opposition of KGB agent Illya Kuryakin. Later, all three unexpectedly find themselves working together in a joint mission to stop a private criminal organization from using Gaby's father's scientific expertise to construct their own nuclear bomb. Through clenched teeth and stylish poise, all three must find a way to cooperate for the sake of world peace, even as they each pursue their own agendas.

Released: 14 Aug 2015
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.2 / 10
Metascore: 56 / 100
Awards: 8 wins & 8 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Solo 243 lines, man
Gaby 122 lines, woman
Kuryakin 108 lines, man
Alexander 78 lines, man
Uncle Rudi 40 lines, man
Elena 37 lines
Sanders 36 lines, man
Udo 21 lines, man
Waverly 20 lines, man
Colonel 14 lines

Full cast, 29 people

Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo
Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin
Alicia Vikander as Gaby Teller
Elizabeth Debicki as Victoria Vinciguerra
Luca Calvani as Alexander
Sylvester Groth as Uncle Rudi
Hugh Grant as Waverly
Jared Harris as Sanders
Christian Berkel as Udo
Misha Kuznetsov as Oleg
Marianna Di Martino as Desk Clerk
Julian M. Deuster as Assistant
Andrea Cagliesi as Fishing Captain
Riccardo Calvanese as Man 2
Peter Stark as Guard (Checkpoint)
David Menkin as Jones
Pablo Scola as Harbourmaster
Harry Taurasi as Mechanic
Riccardo Flammini as Man 1
Francesco De Vito as Night Manager
Luca Della Valle as Security Guard
Simona Caparrini as Countess Allegra
David Beckham as Projectionist
Alexander Ananasso as Italian Guard
Joana Metrass as Victoria's Assistant
Gabriel Lo Giudice as Count Lippi
Ben Wright as The Unit (uncredited)
Christopher Sciueref as Colonel Massid (uncredited)
Guy Williams as Captain Smith

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 10% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 147

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	0	0
5 to 8	13	31
9 to 12	3	2
13 to 16	4	3
17 to 20	3	4
21 to 24	6	6
25 to 28	1	2
29 to 32	3	10
33 to 36	0	2
37 to 40	0	23
41 to 44	0	11
45 to 48	0	28
49 to 52	16	38
53 to 56	5	8
57 to 60	19	44
61 to 64	3	7
65 to 68	6	35
69 to 72	9	37
73 to 76	0	33
77 to 80	7	27
81 to 84	5	15
85 to 88	3	11
89 to 92	0	1
93 to 96	0	4
97 to 100	0	30
101 to 104	4	42
105 to 108	4	22
109 to 112	1	4
113 to 116	2	7
117 to 120	0	15
121 to 124	1	3
125 to 128	4	3
129 to 132	0	8
133 to 136	1	13
137 to 140	0	12
141 to 144	2	21
145 to 147	0	18

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, 18 are women's.

125 lines from women, 580 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

5 women and 20 men in the cast. 2 women and 9 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 18 of 787. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 87 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 14% of the words (1,224), men 86% (7,781). Women have 18% 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

1 of the 17 people in these jobs is a woman. Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Guy Ritchie (man)
Written by: Guy Ritchie (man), Lionel Wigram (man)
Story by: Jeff Kleeman (man), David C. Wilson (man), Guy Ritchie (man), Lionel Wigram (man)
Produced by: Steve Clark-Hall (man), John Davis (man), Guy Ritchie (man), Lionel Wigram (man)
Shot by: John Mathieson (man)
Edited by: James Herbert (man)
Music by: Daniel Pemberton (man)
Production design by: Oliver Scholl (man)
Costumes by: Joanna Johnston (woman)
Cast by: Reg Poerscout-Edgerton (man)