Fails the Bechdel test
The Man Who Invented Christmas
2017. Directed by Bharat Nalluri, written by Susan Coyne and Les Standiford and Charles Dickens.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
10 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
In 1843, celebrated British novelist Charles Dickens is at a low point in his career with three flops behind him and family expenses piling up at home. Determined to recover, Dickens decides to write a Christmas story and self-publish it in less than two months. As Dickens labors writing on such short notice, his estranged father and mother come to bunk with him. Still haunted by painful memories of his father ruining his childhood by his financial irresponsibility, Dickens develops a seemingly-unsolvable writer's block. Dickens must face his personal demons epitomized through his characters, especially in his imagined conversations with Ebenezer Scrooge. With a looming deadline, Dickens struggles for inspiration against his frustrations and his characters' opinions in a literary challenge creating a classic tale that would define the essential soul of modern Christmas.
- Released
- 22 Nov 2017
- Genres
- Biography, Comedy, Drama
- Rated
- PG
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 60 / 100
- Awards
- 2 wins & 8 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Dickens 395 lines, man
- Forster 119 lines, man
- Scrooge 98 lines, man
- Mr. Dickens 64 lines, man
- Kate 47 lines, woman
- Tara 35 lines, woman
- Chapman 21 lines, man
- Haddock 16 lines, man
- Hall 13 lines, man
- Thackeray 13 lines, man
Full cast, 68 people
- Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens
- Christopher Plummer as Scrooge
- Jonathan Pryce as Mr. John Dickens
- Justin Edwards as John Forster / Ghost of Christmas Present
- Morfydd Clark as Kate Dickens
- Donald Sumpter as Haddock / Ghost of Marley
- Miles Jupp as Thackeray
- Simon Callow as Leech
- Miriam Margolyes as Mrs. Fisk
- Ian McNeice as Chapman
- Bill Paterson as Mr. Grimsby
- John Henshaw as Butcher / Mr. Fezziwig
- Annette Badland as Butcher's Wife / Mrs. Fezziwig
- Katie McGuinness as Fanny Dickens / Mrs. Cratchit
- Pearse Kearney as Henry Jr. / Tiny Tim
- Ger Ryan as Mrs. Dickens
- Marcus Lamb as Rev. Henry Burnett / Mr. Cratchit
- Cosimo Fusco as Signor Mazzini
- Anna Murphy as Tara / Ghost of Christmas Past
- Ely Solan as Young Charles
- Mark Schrier as Presenter
- Patrick Joseph Byrnes as Stage Manager
- Jasper Hughes Cotter as Walter Dickens
- James Heffernan as Charley Dickens
- Aleah Lennon as Mamie Dickens
- Ella Mai Delaney as Katey Dickens
- Donna Marie Sludds as Maid
- David McSavage as Hall
- Pat Mooney as Garrick Club Waiter
- Anna Murphy as Tara / Ghost of Christmas Past
- Sam McGillicuddy as Young Charles' Brother
- Rory O'Neill as Young Charles' Brother
- Nancy Quinney as Young Charles' Sister
- Allanah as Young Charles' Sister
- Glynis Casson as Society Lady
- Amelia Crowley as Mrs. Grimsby
- Derek Hannay as Toothless Man
- Derek O'Sullivan as Grave Digger
- John Delaney as Grave Digger
- Gerard Lee as Cleric
- Stephen Ball as Clerk
- Kevin McCormack as Bailiff
- Aideen Wylde as Charlotte Wigmore
- Marcus Lamb as Rev. Henry Burnett / Bob Cratchit
- Paul Kealyn as Warren's Foreman
- Richard Coombs as Punch / Judy
- Michael Judd as Pie Man
- Anthony Morris as Newsagent
- Eddie Jackson as Scam Artist
- Linda Gough as Charwoman
- Jack Gunning as Cratchit Child
- Christina Martina as Cratchit Child
- Ava May Taylor as Cratchit Child
- Adam Dolan as Warren's Factory Boy
- Cameron Simpson as Poll
- Degnan Geraghty as Christmas Tree Vendor
- John Colleary as Constable Copperfield
- Sean Duggan as Mr. Grub
- Jake as Grip the Raven
- James Daniel Wilson as Grip
- George as Mittens the Cat
- Valeria Bandino as Tart
- Desmond Bird as Lover
- Séamus Hanly as Audience Member
- Franco Moscon as Nobleman
- Mark Quigley as Middle Class
- Roisin Whelan as Maid
- Séamus Hanly as Audience Member (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 83
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 | 7 |
| 3 to 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 5 to 6 | 8 | 20 |
| 7 to 8 | 0 | 47 |
| 9 to 10 | 0 | 43 |
| 11 to 12 | 16 | 14 |
| 13 to 14 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 to 16 | 10 | 25 |
| 17 to 18 | 0 | 9 |
| 19 to 20 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 to 22 | 0 | 29 |
| 23 to 24 | 0 | 35 |
| 25 to 26 | 0 | 7 |
| 27 to 28 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 to 30 | 10 | 37 |
| 31 to 32 | 4 | 19 |
| 33 to 34 | 0 | 50 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 32 |
| 37 to 38 | 0 | 17 |
| 39 to 40 | 1 | 5 |
| 41 to 42 | 11 | 20 |
| 43 to 44 | 3 | 18 |
| 45 to 46 | 4 | 28 |
| 47 to 48 | 11 | 16 |
| 49 to 50 | 6 | 39 |
| 51 to 52 | 0 | 14 |
| 53 to 54 | 8 | 26 |
| 55 to 56 | 7 | 32 |
| 57 to 58 | 0 | 42 |
| 59 to 60 | 0 | 43 |
| 61 to 62 | 3 | 48 |
| 63 to 64 | 0 | 3 |
| 65 to 66 | 6 | 8 |
| 67 to 68 | 0 | 3 |
| 69 to 70 | 0 | 25 |
| 71 to 72 | 0 | 1 |
| 73 to 74 | 9 | 10 |
| 75 to 76 | 3 | 21 |
| 77 to 78 | 0 | 4 |
| 79 to 80 | 0 | 11 |
| 81 to 82 | 3 | 7 |
| 83 to 83 | 0 | 1 |
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, 13 are women's.
126 lines from women, 835 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
10 women and 30 men in the cast. 10 women and 24 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 19 of 995.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 127 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 (1,116), men 86% (7,024). Women have 13% 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
6
Two men
66
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 33% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Bharat Nalluri (man)
- Written by
- Susan Coyne (woman)
- From the novel by
- Charles Dickens (man)
- Produced by
- Niv Fichman (man), Vadim Jean (man), Robert Mickelson (gender not listed), Susan Mullen (woman), Ian Sharples (man)
- Shot by
- Ben Smithard (man)
- Edited by
- Jamie Pearson (gender not listed), Stephen O'Connell (man)
- Music by
- Mychael Danna (man)
- Production design by
- Paki Smith (man)
- Costumes by
- Leonie Prendergast (gender not listed)
- Cast by
- Amy Hubbard (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
7 women, 9 men, 9 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 2 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 0 men, 4 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
-
Writing
1 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 52 on average. Men: 61 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Morfydd Clark 27, Miriam Margolyes 76
Men
Dan Stevens 35, Miles Jupp 38, Justin Edwards 45, Ian McNeice 67, Simon Callow 68, Jonathan Pryce 70, Donald Sumpter 74, Christopher Plummer 87
Exhibit G: the money
It made 48% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $17 million
- Box office
- $8.1 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 83 scenes and 995 lines of dialogue. How the test works
