Fails the Bechdel test

The Northman

Name: The Northman
Released: 2022

2022. Directed by Robert Eggers, written by Sjón and Robert Eggers.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

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

The Viking Age. With a mind aflame with hate and revenge, Prince Amleth, the wronged son of King Aurvandill War-Raven, heads to cold, windswept Iceland to retrieve what was stolen from him: a father, a mother, and a kingdom. And like a war dog picking up the enemy's scent, brutal Amleth embarks on a murderous quest to find the hateful adversary, whose life is forever woven together with his by the threads of fate. Now, in the name of Valhalla, no one can stop the Northman, not even God.

Released: 22 Apr 2022
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7 / 10
Metascore: 82 / 100
Awards: 5 wins & 55 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Amleth 139 lines, man
Olga 56 lines, woman
King Aurvandil 35 lines, man
Heimir 31 lines, man
Gunnar 24 lines, man
He-Witch 17 lines, man
Finnr Nose-Stub 9 lines, man
Seeress 9 lines, woman
Audunn The Irish 6 lines, man
Melkorka The Kitchen Slave 6 lines, woman

Full cast, 54 people

Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth
Nicole Kidman as Queen Gudrún
Claes Bang as Fjölnir the Brotherless
Ethan Hawke as King Aurvandil War-Raven
Anya Taylor-Joy as Olga of the Birch Forest
Gustav Lindh as Thórir the Proud
Elliott Rose as Gunnar
Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool
Phill Martin as Hallgrímr Half-Troll
Eldar Skar as Finnr the Nose-Stub
Olwen Fouéré as Áshildur Hofgythja
Edgar Abram as Hersveinn Battle-Hard
Jack Gassmann as Hjalti Battle Hasty
Ingvar E. Sigurðsson as He-Witch
Oscar Novak as Young Amleth
Jack Walsh as Hallur Freymundur
Björk as Seeress
Ian Whyte as The Mound Dweller
Katie Pattinson as Shield Maiden
Andrea O’Neill as Helga the Nanny
Rebecca Ineson as Halla the Maiden
Kate Dickie as Halldóra the Pict
Ísadóra Bjarkardóttir Barney as Melkorka
Kevin Horsham as Völundur the Smith
Seamus O'Hara as Audunn the Irish
Scott Sinclair as Grímr Skull-Hammer
Tadhg Murphy as Eiríkr Blaze-Eye
James Yates as Hrólfur Split-Lip
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Thórfinnr Tooth-Gnasher
Ian Gerard Whyte as Thórvaldr Giant-Crusher
Ralph Ineson as Captain Volodymyr
Murray McArthur as Hákon Iron-Beard
Nille Glæsel as Gunnhildr Ship-Breasted
Jonas Lorentzen as Eysteinn
Magne Osnes as Berserker Priest
Ineta Sliuzaite as Valkyrja
Finn Lafferty as Fisherman’s Son
Jon Campling as Standard Bearer
Helen Roche as Hofgythja
Faoileann Cunningham as Kormlöth
Gareth Parker as The Hird Officer
Mark Fitzgerald as Hallucinating Guard
Gavin Peden as Burly Guard
Joel Hicks as Fengr Shield-Biter
Chris Finlayson as Grani Battle-Screamer
Eric Higgins as Ketill the Whale Sided
Matt Symonds as Ragnar Cold-Mouthed
Luca Evans as Ivan
James Harper-Jones as Vasill
Thomas Harper-Jones as Stanislav
Sheila Flitton as Lyudmila
Lily Bird as The Maiden King
Robin Carolan as Hawker (uncredited)
Mark P. O'Connor as Villager (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 119

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	1
4 to 6	1	6
7 to 9	0	6
10 to 12	0	21
13 to 15	0	35
16 to 18	0	9
19 to 21	0	5
22 to 24	1	5
25 to 27	9	5
28 to 30	0	7
31 to 33	2	3
34 to 36	0	1
37 to 39	0	1
40 to 42	6	22
43 to 45	0	2
46 to 48	0	2
49 to 51	6	6
52 to 54	0	23
55 to 57	0	14
58 to 60	0	2
61 to 63	5	9
64 to 66	5	15
67 to 69	5	10
70 to 72	0	2
73 to 75	1	4
76 to 78	0	0
79 to 81	1	0
82 to 84	1	0
85 to 87	1	2
88 to 90	0	20
91 to 93	9	15
94 to 96	0	2
97 to 99	8	9
100 to 102	0	0
103 to 105	1	2
106 to 108	8	9
109 to 111	0	1
112 to 114	0	1
115 to 117	0	3
118 to 119	3	4

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, 20 are women's.

73 lines from women, 284 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

12 women and 24 men in the cast. 5 women and 12 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 8 of 364. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 84 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 21% of the words (791), men 79% (2,994). Women have 20% 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 17 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Robert Eggers (man)
Written by: Sjón (man), Robert Eggers (man)
From the novel by: Saxo Grammaticus (man)
Produced by: Robert Eggers (man), Leifur B. Dagfinnsson (man), Alexander Skarsgård (man), Lars Knudsen (man), Arnon Milchan (man), Mark Huffam (man)
Shot by: Jarin Blaschke (man)
Edited by: Louise Ford (woman)
Music by: Sebastian Gainsborough (man), Robin Carolan (man)
Production design by: Craig Lathrop (man)
Costumes by: Linda Muir (woman)
Cast by: Kharmel Cochrane (woman)