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Fails the Bechdel test

The Trial of the Chicago 7

2020. Directed by Aaron Sorkin, written by Aaron Sorkin.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    12 women characters. 8 of them speak.
  2. No 2. Who talk to each other
    Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
  3. 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.

Poster for The Trial of the Chicago 7

The film

In Chicago 1968, the Democratic Party Convention was met with protests from activists like the moderate Students for a Democratic Society led by Tom Hayden and the militant Yippies led by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, which led to violent confrontations with the local authorities. As a result, seven of the accused ringleaders are arraigned on charges like Conspiracy by the hostile Nixon administration, including Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers who was not involved in the incident. What follows is an unfair trial presided by the belligerent Judge Hoffman (No relation) and prosecuted by a reluctant but duty-bound Richard Schultz. As their pro bono lawyers face such odds, Hayden and his fellows are frustrated by the Yippies' outrageous antics undermining their defense in defiance of the system even while Seale is denied a chance to defend himself his way. Along the way, the Chicago 7 clash in their political philosophies even as they learn they need each other in this fight.

Released
16 Oct 2020
Genres
Drama, History, Thriller
Rated
R
IMDb
7.7 / 10
Metascore
76 / 100
Awards
Nominated for 6 Oscars. 61 wins & 195 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Kunstler 242 lines, man
  2. Tom 176 lines, man
  3. Judge Hoffman 157 lines, man
  4. Abbie 140 lines, man
  5. Schultz 136 lines, man
  6. Jerry 99 lines, man
  7. Bobby 64 lines, man
  8. Rennie 56 lines, man
  9. Dave 42 lines, man
  10. Weinglass 42 lines, man
Full cast, 80 people
  • Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden
  • Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman
  • Mark Rylance as William Kunstler
  • Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Richard Schultz
  • Frank Langella as Judge Julius Hoffman
  • Jeremy Strong as Jerry Rubin
  • John Carroll Lynch as David Dellinger
  • Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Bobby Seale
  • Alex Sharp as Rennie Davis
  • Noah Robbins as Lee Weiner
  • Danny Flaherty as John Froines
  • Ben Shenkman as Leonard Weinglass
  • Michael Keaton as Ramsey Clark
  • Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Fred Hampton
  • Caitlin FitzGerald as Agent Daphne O'Connor
  • Alice Kremelberg as Bernadine
  • J.C. MacKenzie as Thomas Foran
  • John Doman as John Mitchell
  • Wayne Duvall as Detective Deluca
  • Damian Young as Howard Ackerman
  • C.J. Wilson as Sergeant Scott Scibelli
  • Brady Jenness as David Dellinger's Son
  • Meghan Rafferty as Mrs. Dellinger
  • Juliette Angelo as Juror 6
  • Brendan Burke as Bailiff
  • Tah von Allmen as Mrs. Winter
  • Alan Metoskie as Allen Ginsberg
  • John Gawlik as Policeman That Arrests Jerry
  • Kevin O'Donnell as Bar Patron 1
  • Gavin Haag as Bar Patron 2
  • Tiffany Denise Hobbs as Sondra
  • Steve Routman as David Stahl
  • Madison Nichols as Demonstrator
  • John F. Carpenter as Detective Bell
  • Larry Mitchell as Detective Frapoly
  • Mike Geraghty as Detective Sam McGiven
  • Mike Brunlieb as Eddie
  • James Pravasilis as Egg Throwing Crowd Member
  • Vic Kuligoski as Frat Boy 1
  • Brandon Fierro as Frat Boy 2
  • Calvin Ticknor-Swanson as Frat Boy 3
  • Gabrielle Perrea as Girl in Beret
  • Michelle Hurst as Housekeeper Jane
  • Tony Lawry as Man
  • Kathleen Garrett as Mitchell's Secretary
  • Matt LeFevour as Officer 1
  • Christian Litke as Officer 2
  • Max Adler as Officer Wojohowski
  • Michael Bassett as Officer Quinn
  • Shawn Parsons as Policeman in Haymarket
  • Julian Hester as Policeman on Bullhorn
  • John Quilty as Reporter Jack
  • Kate Miller as Reporter Majorie
  • Edward Fletcher as Reporter Sy
  • Blair Lewin as Woman in Tavern
  • Jessica Wood as Bartender
  • Steven Komito as Marshal
  • Marco Lama as Someone in the Crowd
  • Ben Kass as Reporter 7
  • Gabriel Franken as Reporter 8
  • Ed Flynn as Reporter 9
  • Alex Henderson as Young Man
  • David Fierro as Bailiff 2
  • Sam Nelson Harris as Band Lead Singer
  • Marlee Mendelson as Band Member
  • Hana Chew as Band Member
  • Ashley Trumbo as Band Member
  • Allison Trumbo as Band Member
  • Shane Skidmore as Band Member
  • Jeffrey Yonkus as Band Member
  • Maria Jacobson as Band Member
  • Brendan Brown as Band Member
  • Dan MacDonald as Band Member
  • Keeley Morris as Female Protester
  • Thomas John Gallagher as Radio Cop
  • Michael A. Dean as Carl Oglesby
  • Elizabeth Holder as Juror 11
  • Lex Elle as Riot Cop (uncredited)
  • Gillian Cooper as Courtroom Protester
  • Eden Vernier as Courtroom Gallery (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 174

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 402
5 to 802
9 to 121338
13 to 1607
17 to 2002
21 to 2402
25 to 28286
29 to 321156
33 to 36080
37 to 40014
41 to 44019
45 to 4809
49 to 52078
53 to 56822
57 to 60771
61 to 64061
65 to 68019
69 to 7208
73 to 76030
77 to 8009
81 to 84710
85 to 8889
89 to 92011
93 to 96218
97 to 100110
101 to 10409
105 to 108412
109 to 112017
113 to 1161475
117 to 120051
121 to 124573
125 to 1285151
129 to 132091
133 to 136014
137 to 140017
141 to 14402
145 to 14806
149 to 152011
153 to 15603
157 to 16002
161 to 16429
165 to 16804
169 to 172022
173 to 174071

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, 5 are women's.

79 lines from women, 1413 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

12 women and 41 men in the cast. 8 women and 32 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 28 of 1,531. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 294 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 4% of the words (578), men 96% (14,230). Women have 5% 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

Exhibit E: behind the camera

None of the 10 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Aaron Sorkin (man)
Written by
Aaron Sorkin (man)
Produced by
Marc Platt (man), Stuart M. Besser (man), Matt Jackson (man), Tyler Thompson (man)
Shot by
Phedon Papamichael (man)
Edited by
Alan Baumgarten (man)
Music by
Daniel Pemberton (man)
Production design by
Shane Valentino (man)

The crew, department by department

  • Production

    10 women, 25 men, 12 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 8 men, 5 not listed

  • Other crew

    0 women, 7 men, 1 not listed

  • Art

    2 women, 2 men, 3 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    2 women, 1 men, 4 not listed

  • Sound

    2 women, 5 men

  • Directing

    1 women, 4 men

  • Visual Effects

    0 women, 1 men, 2 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Men: 46 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Men

Noah Robbins 29, Alex Sharp 31, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II 34, Eddie Redmayne 38, Joseph Gordon-Levitt 39, Jeremy Strong 41, Sacha Baron Cohen 48, John Carroll Lynch 57, Mark Rylance 60, Frank Langella 82

Exhibit G: the money

It made 0% of what it cost.

Budget
$35 million
Box office
$107,423

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 174 scenes and 1,531 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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