Fails the Bechdel test
The Town
2010. Directed by Ben Affleck, written by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
9 women characters. 2 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 Charlestown neighborhood of Boston is renowned for churning out a high number of armed robbers, generation after generation. These robbers never leave their Charlestown life of their own volition, the neighborhood where there is an unwritten code to protect that lifestyle. Such robbers include friends Doug MacRay, James Coughlin, Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan, and Desmond Elden. Doug and James in particular treat each other like family, as the Coughlins have realistically been to Doug since his mother ran off and his father, Stephen MacRay, was sent to prison. Doug has a casual-sex relationship with Krista Coughlin, James' drugged-out single-mother sister. The foursome carry out a mostly-successful bank robbery, but circumstances make them take the bank manager, Claire Keesey, hostage for a short time before releasing her physically unharmed. They find out that Claire lives in Charlestown, so they want to ensure that she saw nothing that could incriminate them if they would ever run into her, so Doug begins a personal relationship with her to find out what she knows and what she's told the police and the FBI, who have taken charge of the investigation. He learns that she has kept some information from the authorities for her own protection--that could specifically identify James. But Doug slowly falls for her, as she does for him. Ultimately, Doug dreams about leaving his Charlestown life to be with Claire--anywhere but there. He must try to keep his true identity from her, and keep the fact that he's seeing her from his colleagues. But leaving is not easy; he and the gang are tasked with a big job by a local gangster named Fergie whether Doug likes it or not. And Adam Frawley, the FBI's lead investigator, comes into evidence that links the foursome to the bank robbery and a subsequent armored car heist, so is on their tail for evidence that will send them away dead or alive.
- Released
- 17 Sep 2010
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 74 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 9 wins & 46 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Doug 376 lines, man
- Claire 233 lines, woman
- Frawley 185 lines, man
- Jem 167 lines, man
- Dino 57 lines, man
- Krista 57 lines, woman
- Gloansy 23 lines, man
- Dez 13 lines, man
- Fergie 11 lines, man
- Henry 10 lines, man
Full cast, 78 people
- Ben Affleck as Doug MacRay
- Jeremy Renner as James "Jem" Coughlin
- Rebecca Hall as Claire Keesey
- Jon Hamm as FBI S.A. Adam Frawley
- Blake Lively as Krista Coughlin
- George Carroll as Albert "Gloansy" Magloan
- Pete Postlethwaite as Fergus "Fergie" Colm
- Owen Burke as Desmond "Dez" Elden
- Titus Welliver as Dino Ciampa
- Chris Cooper as Stephen MacRay
- Dennis McLaughlin as Rusty
- Corena Chase as Agent Quinlan
- Brian Scannell as Henry
- Kerri Dunbar as Henry’s Girl
- Tony V. as Vericom Crew Chief
- Isaac Bordoy as Alex Colazzo
- Michael Yebba as Beacon G.I. Joe Driver
- Daniel Woods as BPD Sergeant at Krista's Accident
- Jimmy Joe Maher as Inside Man at Fenway
- Joe Lawler as Task Force Agent Conlan
- Michele Cressinger as Margie
- Mark Berglund as Young Security Guard
- Ralph Boutwell as Cashcom Guard
- Michael Romig as Cashcom Guard
- Michael Malvesti as Atlantic Truck Courier
- Jack Neary as Arnold Washton
- Ed O'Keefe as Morton Previt
- Ben Hanson as FBI SWAT Team Leader
- Brian A. White as FBI SWAT #1
- Richard Caines as FBI SWAT #2
- Frank Garvin as Police Captain
- Danny Ring as Cop Giving Statement
- Gary Galone as Internal Affairs Officer at Fenway
- David Catanzaro as Fenway Detective
- Jeremiah Kissel as Claire's Lawyer
- Malik McMullen as Plain Clothed FBI Agent
- Charles C. Winchester III as Gate D Police Officer
- Adam J. Husband as Gate D Police Officer
- Danny DeMiller as Eskimo Story Speaker
- Susan Rawlinson as NA Speaker
- Sean Locke as NA Speaker
- Peter Looney as NA Speaker
- Lennin Pena as Colazzo's Friend
- James McKittrick as Cop Who Looks Away
- Ted Arcidi as Cedar Junction C.O.
- Bryan Connolly as Cedar Junction C.O. Visitors Area
- Quan Liang Chen as Monument Laundry Owner
- Alex Winston as Police Photographer
- Michael F. Murphy as Michael Houlihan
- Kimberly Mahoney as Warren Tavern Waitress
- Bobby Curcuro as Man in Harvard Square
- Ginaya Green as Krista's Friend
- Nicole Page as Krista's Friend
- Georgia Lyman as Neptune's Waitress
- Robert Boyden as Vericom Employee
- Jamie Ghazarian as Dancer at Foxy Lady
- Chick Bernhard as Marty McGuire (uncredited)
- Stephen Bishop as Derrick (uncredited)
- David Boston as Man at Casino Cash in Window Line (uncredited)
- Alex Bussell as Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Katelyn Cahill as Student / Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Nick Cairis as FBI Agent (uncredited)
- Jeffrey Corazzini as Boston Police Officer (uncredited)
- Tommy Dallace as FBI Special Agent Danny Hawkins (uncredited)
- Mary A. DeBriae as Poker Player (uncredited)
- Tom Diorio as Boston Police Officer (uncredited)
- Jeffrey Feingold as FBI Agent (uncredited)
- Mugisha Feruzi as Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Carlos Foglia as FBI Agent Gary Clark (uncredited)
- Jim Ford as FBI SWAT (uncredited)
- Rich Foster as Decoy Lot Agent (uncredited)
- John Franchi as Townie (uncredited)
- Jonathon Frost as FBI Agent (uncredited)
- Victor Garber as Assistant Bank Manager (uncredited)
- Suzanne Gillies as FBI Agent (uncredited)
- London Hall as Runner (uncredited)
- Bane Harlock as Man (uncredited)
- Louis Holmes as Gambler (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 183
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 | 4 | 15 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 16 |
| 9 to 12 | 17 | 38 |
| 13 to 16 | 0 | 15 |
| 17 to 20 | 0 | 68 |
| 21 to 24 | 0 | 5 |
| 25 to 28 | 13 | 18 |
| 29 to 32 | 22 | 43 |
| 33 to 36 | 21 | 22 |
| 37 to 40 | 40 | 66 |
| 41 to 44 | 22 | 29 |
| 45 to 48 | 0 | 10 |
| 49 to 52 | 8 | 32 |
| 53 to 56 | 19 | 49 |
| 57 to 60 | 7 | 25 |
| 61 to 64 | 1 | 0 |
| 65 to 68 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 to 72 | 0 | 3 |
| 73 to 76 | 0 | 10 |
| 77 to 80 | 0 | 21 |
| 81 to 84 | 0 | 16 |
| 85 to 88 | 0 | 7 |
| 89 to 92 | 0 | 0 |
| 93 to 96 | 0 | 3 |
| 97 to 100 | 0 | 7 |
| 101 to 104 | 0 | 33 |
| 105 to 108 | 19 | 76 |
| 109 to 112 | 19 | 43 |
| 113 to 116 | 0 | 2 |
| 117 to 120 | 4 | 12 |
| 121 to 124 | 50 | 65 |
| 125 to 128 | 12 | 16 |
| 129 to 132 | 0 | 1 |
| 133 to 136 | 0 | 2 |
| 137 to 140 | 0 | 18 |
| 141 to 144 | 0 | 15 |
| 145 to 148 | 0 | 10 |
| 149 to 152 | 0 | 17 |
| 153 to 156 | 0 | 4 |
| 157 to 160 | 0 | 7 |
| 161 to 164 | 11 | 26 |
| 165 to 168 | 0 | 2 |
| 169 to 172 | 0 | 2 |
| 173 to 176 | 4 | 10 |
| 177 to 180 | 0 | 3 |
| 181 to 183 | 0 | 13 |
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.
293 lines from women, 895 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
9 women and 30 men in the cast. 2 women and 27 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 9 of 1,239.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 115 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 (2,617), men 79% (9,904). 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
0
Two men
74
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 14 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 25% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Ben Affleck (man)
- Written by
- Aaron Stockard (man), Ben Affleck (man), Peter Craig (man)
- From the novel by
- Chuck Hogan (man)
- Produced by
- Graham King (man), Basil Iwanyk (man)
- Shot by
- Robert Elswit (man)
- Edited by
- Dylan Tichenor (man)
- Music by
- David Buckley (man), Harry Gregson-Williams (man)
- Production design by
- Sharon Seymour (woman)
- Costumes by
- Susan Matheson (woman)
- Cast by
- Lora Kennedy (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
1 women, 11 men, 1 not listed
-
Other crew
2 women, 5 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 6 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 1 men, 6 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 5 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 3 men
-
Writing
0 women, 4 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 26 on average. Men: 42 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Blake Lively 23, Rebecca Hall 28
Men
Owen Burke 17, George Carroll 32, Ben Affleck 38, Jeremy Renner 39, Jon Hamm 39, Titus Welliver 48, Chris Cooper 59, Pete Postlethwaite 64
Exhibit G: the money
It made 4.2 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $37 million
- Box office
- $154 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 183 scenes and 1,239 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
