Passes the Bechdel test
The Tragedy of Macbeth
2022. Directed by Joel Coen, written by Joel Coen and William Shakespeare.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
6 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 78. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
As ghastly witches prophesy that Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, will soon become the King of Scotland, ambitious Lady Macbeth prompts her husband to act. So, to speed things up, conflicted Macbeth seizes the opportunity, and as blood stains his hands, the throne is his for the taking. However, murder is an unbearable burden, and before long, rabid paranoia blackens the conscience and imperils the sanity of the cursed couple. Now, only death awaits. Can a mere mortal escape fate?
- Released
- 14 Jan 2022
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 87 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 3 Oscars. 22 wins & 116 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Macbeth 196 lines, man
- Lady Macbeth 80 lines, woman
- Ross 49 lines, man
- Macduff 46 lines, man
- Banquo 34 lines, man
- Lady Macduff 25 lines, woman
- Malcolm 23 lines, man
- Murderer 20 lines, man
- King Duncan 17 lines, man
- First Witch 15 lines, woman
Full cast, 36 people
- Denzel Washington as Macbeth
- Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth
- Alex Hassell as Ross
- Bertie Carvel as Banquo
- Brendan Gleeson as Duncan
- Corey Hawkins as Macduff
- Harry Melling as Malcolm
- Miles Anderson as Lennox
- Kathryn Hunter as Witches / Old Man
- Matt Helm as Donalbain
- Moses Ingram as Lady Macduff
- Scott Subiono as Murderer
- Brian Thompson as Murderer
- Lucas Barker as Fleance
- Stephen Root as Porter
- Robert Gilbert as Angus
- Ethan Hutchison as Macduff's Son
- James Udom as Seyton
- Richard Short as Siward
- Sean Patrick Thomas as Monteith
- Ralph Ineson as Captain
- Jefferson Mays as Doctor
- Olivia Washington as Children’s Nurse
- Susan James Berger as Lady in Waiting
- Wayne T. Carr as Lady Macduff’s Murderer
- Jacob McCarthy as Wheyface
- Nancy Daly as Lady Macbeth's Nurse
- Kayden Alexander Koshelev as Apparition Boy
- Ledger Fuller as Apparition Boy
- T.K. Weaver as Apparition Boy
- Edward Headington as Thane of Cawdor (uncredited)
- Tim Oakes as Duncan's Protector (uncredited)
- Peter Janov as Soldier (uncredited)
- Max Baker as Doctor (uncredited)
- Madison Randolph as Macduff's Daughter (uncredited)
- Phil DiGennaro as Demitrius (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 1% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 78
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 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 to 4 | 18 | 27 |
| 5 to 6 | 5 | 19 |
| 7 to 8 | 9 | 16 |
| 9 to 10 | 6 | 3 |
| 11 to 12 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 to 14 | 7 | 19 |
| 15 to 16 | 0 | 24 |
| 17 to 18 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 to 20 | 18 | 15 |
| 21 to 22 | 0 | 10 |
| 23 to 24 | 0 | 19 |
| 25 to 26 | 2 | 16 |
| 27 to 28 | 4 | 21 |
| 29 to 30 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 to 32 | 1 | 34 |
| 33 to 34 | 7 | 8 |
| 35 to 36 | 1 | 15 |
| 37 to 38 | 2 | 22 |
| 39 to 40 | 11 | 22 |
| 41 to 42 | 19 | 21 |
| 43 to 44 | 0 | 3 |
| 45 to 46 | 0 | 8 |
| 47 to 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 to 50 | 3 | 2 |
| 51 to 52 | 22 | 16 |
| 53 to 54 | 2 | 4 |
| 55 to 56 | 0 | 41 |
| 57 to 58 | 6 | 3 |
| 59 to 60 | 12 | 5 |
| 61 to 62 | 0 | 29 |
| 63 to 64 | 0 | 4 |
| 65 to 66 | 0 | 1 |
| 67 to 68 | 0 | 1 |
| 69 to 70 | 0 | 2 |
| 71 to 72 | 0 | 7 |
| 73 to 74 | 0 | 21 |
| 75 to 76 | 0 | 13 |
| 77 to 78 | 0 | 0 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
LADY MACDUFF: Poor prattler, how thou talk’st! LADY VIVIAN: Bless you, fair dame. I am not to you known, Though in your state of honor I am perfect. I doubt some danger does approach you nearly. If yo… LADY MACDUFF: Whither should I fly? I have done no harm.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 25 are women's.
157 lines from women, 478 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
6 women and 23 men in the cast. 5 women and 23 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 17 of 642.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 79 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 24% of the words (2,506), men 76% (8,072). Women have 25% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit E: 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
3
Two men
28
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 12 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Joel Coen (man)
- Written by
- Joel Coen (man)
- Produced by
- Frances McDormand (woman), Joel Coen (man), Robert Graf (man)
- Shot by
- Bruno Delbonnel (man)
- Edited by
- Lucian Johnston (man), Joel Coen (man)
- Music by
- Carter Burwell (man)
- Production design by
- Stefan Dechant (man)
- Costumes by
- Mary Zophres (woman)
- Cast by
- Ellen Chenoweth (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Art
4 women, 5 men, 9 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 13 men, 1 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
6 women, 2 men, 5 not listed
-
Production
5 women, 4 men
-
Lighting
0 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men
-
Other crew
1 women, 0 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 64 on average. Men: 51 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Frances McDormand 64, Kathryn Hunter 64
Men
Harry Melling 32, Corey Hawkins 33, Alex Hassell 41, Bertie Carvel 44, Denzel Washington 66, Brendan Gleeson 66, Miles Anderson 74
Exhibit H: the money
What it cost and made, where TMDB lists it.
- Budget
- Not listed
- Box office
- $176,248
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 78 scenes and 642 lines of dialogue. How the test works
