Fails the Bechdel test

The Old Man & the Gun

Name: The Old Man & the Gun
Released: 2018

2018. Directed by David Lowery, written by David Lowery and David Grann.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

Yes 1. At least two women
21 women characters. 4 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

Based on the true story of Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public. Wrapped up in the pursuit are detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck), who becomes captivated with Forrest's commitment to his craft, and a woman (Sissy Spacek), who loves him in spite of his chosen profession.

Released: 19 Oct 2018
Genres: Biography, Comedy, Crime
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.7 / 10
Metascore: 80 / 100
Awards: 2 wins & 12 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Forrest 201 lines, man
John Hunt 136 lines, man
Jewel 77 lines, woman
Maureen 47 lines, woman
Teddy 32 lines, man
Lt. Kelley 16 lines, man
Marla 14 lines, woman
Mr. Owens 14 lines, man
Offerman 13 lines, man
Yurkow 13 lines

Full cast, 58 people

Robert Redford as Forrest Tucker
Casey Affleck as John Hunt
Sissy Spacek as Jewel
Danny Glover as Teddy
Tom Waits as Waller
Tika Sumpter as Maureen
Ari Elizabeth Johnson as Abilene
Teagan Johnson as Tyler
Gene Jones as Mr. Owens
John David Washington as Lt. Kelly
Barlow Jacobs as Offerman
Augustine Frizzell as Sandra
Jennifer Joplin as Martha
Lisa DeRoberts as Helen the Teller
Carter Bratton as Local News Anchor
Mike Dennis as National News Anchor
Tomas Deckaj as Mechanic
Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Detective Gene Dentler
Patrick Newall as Doctor
Daniel Britt as Sheriff
Leah Roberts as Dora the Waitress
Elisabeth Moss as Dorothy
Alphaeus Green, Jr. as Owner
Keith Carradine as Captain Calder
Kevin McClatchy as Agent Morton
Todd Covert as Agent Rick
Kenneisha Thompson as Kelly Lornin
Robert Longstreet as Stephen Beckley, Jr., Esq.
John Wayne Hunt as Trustee Jim
Clara Harris as Detective Wilson
Jordan Trovillion as Angela the Teller
Derek Snow as Security Guard Clayton
Barry Mulholland as Husband
Annie Fitzpatrick as Wife
J. Todd Anderson as Officer Walsh
Torrie Wiggins as Ms. Phillips
Annell Brodeur as Arguing Woman
Toby Halbrooks as Arguing Man
Christine Dye as Marla the Waitress
Tom Lepera as Hungry Guard
Warren Bryson as Agent Summers
Kelly Mengelkoch as Maddie
Asher Parran as Robbie
Kyndra Jefferies as Kyra the Waitress
Kay Geiger as Bank Manager
Nathan Neorr as Agent Krombopulos
Dennis J. Barket as Prison Worker
Cody Gilbert as Forrest, Age 8
Jack Doke as Forrest, Age 12
Alexander M. Partridge as Sandy's Boy
Larry Jack Dotson as Manager #1
Pam Dougherty as Manager #2
Atheena Frizzell as Dora Lee
Marissa Woolf as Raquel
Todd Terry as FBI Agent
Sydney Benter as Reporter
Derek Polen as Bank Employee (uncredited)
John E. Brownlee as Police Officer (uncredited)

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 168

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	14	16
5 to 8	0	16
9 to 12	0	4
13 to 16	0	6
17 to 20	0	6
21 to 24	0	7
25 to 28	2	5
29 to 32	0	0
33 to 36	0	6
37 to 40	13	10
41 to 44	0	18
45 to 48	0	2
49 to 52	0	5
53 to 56	0	22
57 to 60	0	8
61 to 64	4	14
65 to 68	0	8
69 to 72	0	4
73 to 76	0	13
77 to 80	11	28
81 to 84	43	49
85 to 88	0	52
89 to 92	0	0
93 to 96	0	0
97 to 100	4	8
101 to 104	5	10
105 to 108	0	0
109 to 112	4	10
113 to 116	4	6
117 to 120	0	4
121 to 124	19	17
125 to 128	2	17
129 to 132	1	6
133 to 136	1	2
137 to 140	9	10
141 to 144	5	30
145 to 148	0	0
149 to 152	3	4
153 to 156	4	5
157 to 160	0	3
161 to 164	2	2
165 to 168	3	16

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, 25 are women's.

153 lines from women, 449 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

21 women and 27 men in the cast. 4 women and 12 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 75 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 22% of the words (1,105), men 78% (4,018). Women have 25% 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

2 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: David Lowery (man)
Written by: David Lowery (man)
Produced by: Jeremy Steckler (gender not listed), Anthony Mastromauro (man), Robert Redford (man), James D. Stern (man), Dawn Ostroff (gender not listed), Bill Holderman (man) and 2 more
Shot by: Joe Anderson (man)
Edited by: Lisa Zeno Churgin (woman)
Music by: Daniel Hart (man)
Production design by: Scott Kuzio (man)
Cast by: D. Lynn Meyers (woman)