Passes the Bechdel test

The Woodsman

Name: The Woodsman
Released: 2005

2005. Directed by Nicole Kassell, written by Steven Fechter and Nicole Kassell.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
7 women characters. 4 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 128.
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

After twelve years in prison, Walter arrives in an unnamed city, moves into a small apartment across the street from an elementary school, gets a job at a lumberyard, and mostly keeps to himself. A quiet, guarded man, Walter finds unexpected solace from Vickie, a tough-talking woman who promises not to judge him for his history. But Walter cannot escape his past. A convicted sex offender, Walter is warily eyed by his brother-in-law, shunned by his sister, lives in fear of being discovered at work, and is hounded by a suspicious local police officer, Detective Lucas. After befriending a young girl in a neighborhood park, Walter must also grapple with the terrible prospect of his own reawakened demons.

Released: 28 Jan 2005
Genres: Drama
Rated: R
IMDb: 7.1 / 10
Metascore: 72 / 100
Awards: 7 wins & 21 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

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

Walter 418 lines, man
Vicki 142 lines, woman
Rosen 92 lines, man
Carlos 62 lines, man
Lucas 59 lines, man
Robin 30 lines, woman
Girl 26 lines, woman
Mary-Kay 15 lines, woman
Bob 6 lines, man
Osen 6 lines

Full cast, 23 people

Kevin Bacon as Walter
David Alan Grier as Bob
Kyra Sedgwick as Vicki
Eve as Mary-Kay
Benjamin Bratt as Carlos
Carlos Leon as Pedro
Michael Shannon as Rosen
Nicole Gibson as Girl with Red Ball
Kevin Rice as Candy
Yasiin Bey as Sgt. Lucas
Hannah Pilkes as Robin
Jessica Nagle as Annette
Liam Daniels as Boy at Playground
Joey Hazinsky as Cherub
Clara Hopkins Daniels as Little Girl on Bus
Ashley C. Coombs as Girl on Bus
Floriane Miniscloux as Girl in Mall
Aunt Dot as Saleswoman
Colleen Dengel as School Girl (uncredited)
Suzanne Dengel as School Girl (uncredited)
Leslie Noel Haigh as Girl on Bus (uncredited)
Laura Holloway as Waitress (uncredited)
Ashley Jackson as Background (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 128

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	0	0
7 to 9	0	0
10 to 12	0	0
13 to 15	0	0
16 to 18	0	0
19 to 21	0	45
22 to 24	0	48
25 to 27	7	8
28 to 30	0	0
31 to 33	15	10
34 to 36	35	25
37 to 39	0	16
40 to 42	0	3
43 to 45	10	0
46 to 48	0	0
49 to 51	22	22
52 to 54	0	32
55 to 57	0	43
58 to 60	2	2
61 to 63	2	0
64 to 66	25	25
67 to 69	0	37
70 to 72	0	23
73 to 75	12	13
76 to 78	6	7
79 to 81	3	71
82 to 84	2	38
85 to 87	5	14
88 to 90	19	20
91 to 93	0	3
94 to 96	0	34
97 to 99	2	4
100 to 102	5	1
103 to 105	3	0
106 to 108	0	0
109 to 111	37	51
112 to 114	0	1
115 to 117	0	0
118 to 120	0	0
121 to 123	0	0
124 to 126	3	40
127 to 128	0	8

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.

MARY-KAY: People have the right to know. VICKI: If she's here tomorrow, I'll fucking kill her.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 25 are women's.

215 lines from women, 644 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

7 women and 8 men in the cast. 4 women and 6 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 101 of 878. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 111 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 23% of the words (1,457), men 77% (4,941). 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

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

4 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 26% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Nicole Kassell (woman)
Written by: Steven Fechter (man), Nicole Kassell (woman)
Produced by: Lee Daniels (man)
Shot by: Xavier Grobet (man)
Edited by: Lisa Fruchtman (woman), Brian A. Kates (man)
Music by: Nathan Larson (man)
Production design by: Stephen Beatrice (man)
Costumes by: Frank L. Fleming (man)
Cast by: Kerry Barden (man), Billy Hopkins (man), Suzanne Smith Crowley (woman), Mark Bennett (man)