Fails the Bechdel test
The Master
2012. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, written by Paul Thomas Anderson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
30 women characters. 8 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
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Following his discharge from the US Navy after WWII, Freddie Quell is having difficulties adjusting to non-military life partly due to his war experiences in the tropics. He has a violent temper. He is obsessed with sex, which is partly why he can't and won't commit to his teenaged girlfriend, Doris Solstad. And he is an alcoholic, drinking primarily concoctions he creates himself with dangerous ingredients. It is these factors in combination that lead to him being fired from one job after another, from department store portrait photographer to cabbage picker. Wandering one night in 1950 while drunk, he stumbles upon a yacht being used by Lancaster and Peggy Dodd, the yacht aboard which their daughter Elizabeth will get married. Feeling a connection to the stranger, Lancaster invites Freddie to stay aboard to work. In addition to that work, Lancaster indoctrinates him into his cult, named the Cause, which purports to do things as varied as cure serious maladies and create world peace. Peggy, Elizabeth and Elizabeth's husband Clark all subscribe to and support Lancaster's teachings. The only one of the Dodd family that doesn't is Lancaster and Peggy's son, Val Dodd, who believes his father is just making things up as he goes along. Because of being lost psychologically, Freddie is easy prey, he who is looking for something or someone to guide him to a higher plane. But as Freddie travels with the Dodd family as they spout the gospel, he and the Dodds may become at odds with each other if Freddie cannot or does not find from them and the Cause what he needs in life to survive emotionally.
- Released
- 21 Sep 2012
- Genres
- Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 86 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 3 Oscars. 75 wins & 187 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Freddie 422 lines, man
- Master 312 lines, man
- Mary Sue 26 lines
- Mother 26 lines, woman
- Bill 25 lines, man
- Clark 23 lines, man
- Doctor 22 lines
- Elizabeth 20 lines, woman
- Bob 18 lines
- Donna 17 lines, man
Full cast, 86 people
- Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dodd
- Amy Adams as Peggy Dodd
- Rami Malek as Clark
- Laura Dern as Helen Sullivan
- Jesse Plemons as Val Dodd
- Ambyr Childers as Elizabeth Dodd
- Madisen Beaty as Doris Solstad
- Kevin J. O'Connor as Bill White
- Patty McCormack as Mildred Drummond
- Lena Endre as Mrs. Solstad
- Barbara Brownell as Margaret O'Brien
- Amy Ferguson as Martha the Salesgirl
- Jennifer Neala Page as Winn Manchester
- Christopher Evan Welch as John More
- Mike Howard as Rorschach Doctor
- Frank Bettag as Frank
- Mimi Cozzens as Chi Chi Crawford
- Jillian Bell as Susan Gregory
- Joshua Close as Wayne Gregory
- Martin Dew as Norman Conrad
- Kevin J. Walsh as Cliff Boyd
- Brady Rubin as Michelle Mortimer
- Jill Andre as Beatrice Campbell
- Barlow Jacobs as James Sullivan
- David Warshofsky as Philadelphia Police
- Tom Knickerbocker as Judge
- Zan Overall as Bartender
- Katie Boland as Young Woman
- Lorelai Hoey as Baby
- Price Carson as V.A. Doctor
- Sarah Shoshana David as V.A. Nurse
- Bruce Goodchild as V.A. Doctor / Interview
- Matt Hering as V.A. Patient
- Dan Anderson as V.A. Patient
- Andrew Koponen as V.A. Patient
- Jeffrey W. Jenkins as V.A. Patient
- Patrick Wilder as V.A. Patient
- Ryan Curtis as V.A. Patient
- Jay Laurence as V.A. Patient
- Abraxas Adams as V.A. Patient
- Tina Bruna as Portrait Customer
- Kevin Hudnell as Portrait Customer
- Hunter Craig as Portrait Customer
- Ryder Craig as Portrait Customer
- Rodion Salnikov as Portrait Customer
- Emily Gilliam as Portrait Customer
- Kody Klein as Portrait Customer
- W. Earl Brown as Fighting Businessman
- Ariel Felix as Filipino Worker
- Vladimir Velasco as Filipino Worker
- John Mark Reyes as Filipino Worker
- Brian Fong as Filipino Worker
- Diane Cortejo as Young Filipino Woman
- Leonida A. Bautista as Nana
- Myrna De Dios as Angry Filipino Woman
- William O'Brien as Hiring Hall Voice (voice)
- Brigitte Hagerman as New York Party Girl
- Charley Morgan as New York Lawyer
- Gigi Benson as Dancer
- Liz Clare as Dancer
- Fiona Dourif as Dancer
- Audrey Finer as Dancer
- Megan Rose Fox as Dancer
- Baily Hopkins as Dancer
- Mari Kearney as Dancer
- Sarah Klaren as Dancer
- Ally Johnson as Dancer
- Brittany Kilcoyne McGregor as Dancer
- LaRain Ring as Dancer
- Kimberly Ables Jindra as Processing Patient
- Theo Crisell as Jail Bird
- Eban Schletter as Band (Piano)
- Scott Rodgers as Band (Drum)
- Melora Walters as Band (Voice)
- Emily Jordan as British Receptionist
- Amanda Caryn Jobbins as British Receptionist
- Olivia Rosemarie Barham as Pub Customer
- Napoleon Ryan as Pub Customer
- AnnaCorey as Madam Grace Love Interest (uncredited)
- Bill Blair as Man at the Bar (uncredited)
- Quint Gabriel as U.K Student
- Shannon Freyer as Ellen (uncredited)
- Martin Gagen as Follower (uncredited)
- Kerry Goodwin as Phoenix Follower (uncredited)
- Dale Richard Howard as Court Observer (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 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 129
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 3 | 0 | 17 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 31 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 to 21 | 1 | 77 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 53 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 12 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 24 |
| 31 to 33 | 9 | 10 |
| 34 to 36 | 3 | 6 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 187 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 4 |
| 43 to 45 | 2 | 55 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 4 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 16 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 31 |
| 55 to 57 | 11 | 31 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 1 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 13 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 10 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 to 72 | 2 | 4 |
| 73 to 75 | 7 | 40 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 22 |
| 79 to 81 | 1 | 12 |
| 82 to 84 | 1 | 7 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 0 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 33 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 0 |
| 94 to 96 | 1 | 3 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 0 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 1 |
| 103 to 105 | 4 | 9 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 0 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 51 |
| 112 to 114 | 1 | 2 |
| 115 to 117 | 26 | 28 |
| 118 to 120 | 11 | 21 |
| 121 to 123 | 3 | 3 |
| 124 to 126 | 3 | 14 |
| 127 to 129 | 8 | 26 |
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, 10 are women's.
94 lines from women, 861 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
30 women and 26 men in the cast. 8 women and 7 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 75 of 1,065.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 213 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 10% of the words (1,068), men 90% (9,609).
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
0
Two men
12
Exhibit E: behind the camera
4 of the 15 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Paul Thomas Anderson (man)
- Written by
- Paul Thomas Anderson (man)
- Produced by
- Daniel Lupi (man), Megan Ellison (woman), Paul Thomas Anderson (man), JoAnne Sellar (woman)
- Shot by
- Mihai Malaimare Jr. (man), Barry Idoine (man)
- Edited by
- Leslie Jones (woman), Peter McNulty (man)
- Music by
- Jonny Greenwood (man)
- Production design by
- David Crank (man), Jack Fisk (man)
- Costumes by
- Mark Bridges (man)
- Cast by
- Cassandra Kulukundis (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 2 men, 25 not listed
-
Art
4 women, 12 men, 11 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 19 men, 6 not listed
-
Sound
5 women, 16 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
5 women, 9 men, 5 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 10 men, 6 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 6 men, 9 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 38 on average. Men: 37 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Madisen Beaty 17, Ambyr Childers 24, Amy Adams 38, Laura Dern 45, Patty McCormack 67
Men
Jesse Plemons 24, Rami Malek 31, Joaquin Phoenix 37, Philip Seymour Hoffman 45, Kevin J. O'Connor 48
Exhibit G: the money
It made 88% of what it cost.
- Budget
- $32 million
- Box office
- $28.3 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 129 scenes and 1,065 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
