Fails the Bechdel test
The Rider
2018. Directed by Chloé Zhao, written by Chloé Zhao.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
0 / 3
Fails
-
No
1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters. -
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
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
Brady Blackburn, a rodeo bronc rider with some renown, learned everything he knows about horses and riding from his parents, Wayne and the now deceased Mari Blackburn. Brady is recovering from a fall off a bronking horse in a rodeo, the most serious of the injuries being a skull fracture which required a metal plate being inserted into his head. Including checking himself out of the hospital earlier than advised, Brady is determined to get back up onto the literal and proverbial horse as quickly as possible as being a cowboy is all he knows. But deep in his heart he knows that returning to the rodeo in particular is something that is probably not in the cards without increased risks, which is eventually confirmed by his doctor who tells him that he cannot sustain another serious head injury without some major consequence. He does not even want his friends and family to treat him with kid gloves in being able to do any of those physical activities which are part and parcel for him of being a man and a cowboy. Brady has to come to some realization as to this fact and come to terms with it - which is difficult even as his best friend, former rodeo rider Lane Scott will forever be institutionalized needing around the clock medical care from a similar accident - or end up killing himself physically in the attempt to bronc again, or killing himself emotionally in not being able to do what he loves.
- Released
- 13 Apr 2018
- Genres
- Drama, Western
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.4 / 10
- Metascore
- 85 / 100
- Awards
- 25 wins & 64 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Brady 218 lines, man
- Wayne 76 lines, man
- Lilly 62 lines, woman
- Cat 40 lines, man
- Tanner 27 lines, man
- James 22 lines, man
- Victor 19 lines, man
- Terri Dawn 9 lines
- Helena 8 lines
- Lane 7 lines, man
Full cast, 17 people
- Brady Jandreau as Brady Blackburn
- Tim Jandreau as Wayne Blackburn
- Lilly Jandreau as Lilly Blackburn
- Cat Clifford as Cat Clifford
- Terri Dawn Pourier as Terri Dawn Pourier
- Lane Scott as Lane Scott
- Tanner Langdeau as Tanner Langdeau
- James Calhoon as James Calhoon
- Derrick Janis as Victor Chasing Hawk
- Greg Barber as Bar Owner
- Steven DeWolfe as Fourth Rodeo Cowboy
- Leroy Pourier as Frank
- Frank Steele as Miles
- Allen Reddy as Bill
- Jordon Slick Phelps as Rodeo Cowboy #2
- Donnie Whirlwind Horse as Rodeo Cowboy #3
- Marshall Byrne as Bar Patron #2
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 120
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 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 16 to 18 | 27 | 27 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 16 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 36 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 13 |
| 31 to 33 | 2 | 5 |
| 34 to 36 | 0 | 11 |
| 37 to 39 | 2 | 2 |
| 40 to 42 | 5 | 34 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 8 |
| 46 to 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 17 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 12 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 1 |
| 61 to 63 | 4 | 5 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 6 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 3 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 28 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 26 |
| 76 to 78 | 11 | 12 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 7 |
| 82 to 84 | 2 | 9 |
| 85 to 87 | 3 | 6 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 4 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 1 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 3 |
| 97 to 99 | 0 | 16 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 41 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 12 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 2 |
| 109 to 111 | 4 | 22 |
| 112 to 114 | 1 | 8 |
| 115 to 117 | 0 | 13 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 3 |
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.
62 lines from women, 427 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
0 women and 2 men in the cast. 0 women and 1 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 536.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 85 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 9% of the words (371), men 91% (3,941). Women have 13% 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
0
Two men
32
Exhibit E: behind the camera
4 of the 9 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 27% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Chloé Zhao (woman)
- Written by
- Chloé Zhao (woman)
- Produced by
- Bert Hamelinck (man), Chloé Zhao (woman), Mollye Asher (woman), Sacha Ben Harroche (man)
- Shot by
- Joshua James Richards (man)
- Edited by
- Alex O'Flinn (man)
- Music by
- Nathan Halpern (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
2 women, 8 men, 6 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 4 men, 9 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 2 men
-
Camera
0 women, 1 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
0 women, 0 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 0 men
-
Lighting
0 women, 1 men
-
Writing
1 women, 0 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 120 scenes and 536 lines of dialogue. How the test works
