Passes the Bechdel test
Wild
2014. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, written by Nick Hornby and Cheryl Strayed.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
15 women characters. 22 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 6 scenes out of 174. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
With the dissolution of her marriage and the death of her mother, Cheryl Strayed has lost all hope. After years of reckless, destructive behavior, she makes a rash decision. With absolutely no experience, driven only by sheer determination, Cheryl hikes more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddens, strengthen, and ultimately heals her.
- Released
- 19 Dec 2014
- Genres
- Adventure, Biography, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.1 / 10
- Metascore
- 74 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 13 wins & 71 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Cheryl 331 lines, woman
- Paul 38 lines, man
- Bobbi 36 lines, woman
- Frank 21 lines, man
- Tj 21 lines
- Greg 17 lines, man
- Leif 15 lines, man
- Ed 14 lines, man
- Jonathan 14 lines, man
- Jimmy Carter 13 lines, man
Full cast, 59 people
- Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed
- Laura Dern as Bobbi Grey
- Keene McRae as Leif
- Gaby Hoffmann as Aimee
- Michiel Huisman as Jonathan
- Kevin Rankin as Greg
- Cliff DeYoung as Ed
- Thomas Sadoski as Paul
- Randy Schulman as Therapist
- W. Earl Brown as Frank
- Brian Van Holt as Ranger
- Mo McRae as Jimmy Carter
- Will Cuddy as Josh
- Leigh Parker as Rick
- Nick Eversman as Richie
- Ray Buckley as Joe
- Cathryn de Prume as Stacey
- Kurt Conroyd as Greg's Friend
- Ted de Chatelet as Greg's Friend
- Jeffree Newman as Greg's Friend
- Lorraine Bahr as Lou
- Jerry Carlton as Dave
- Kevin-Michael Moore as Spider
- Debra Pralle as Saleswoman
- Gray Eubank as Doctor
- Anne Sorce as Nurse
- Charles Baker as T.J.
- J.D. Evermore as Clint
- Beth Hall as Desk Clerk
- Jan Hoag as Annette
- Carlee McManus as Notary
- Art Alexakis as Tattooist
- Anne Gee Byrd as Vera
- Jeanine Jackson as Lecturer
- Jason Newell as Ronald Nylund
- Barry O'Neil as Young Suit #1
- Richard Morris as Young Suit #2
- Bobbi Strayed Lindstrom as Cheryl (6 Yrs Old)
- Robert Alan Barnett as Man at Gas Station
- William Nelson as Leif (3 Yrs Old)
- Tony Doupe as Man Behind Counter
- Dan Considine as Weird Dude
- Andrew Saunderson as Outdoor Store Clerk
- Greg James as Man at the Hotel Bar
- Orianna Milne as Paul's Girlfriend
- Brian Borcherdt as Grateful Dead Cover Band
- Eric D. Johnson as Grateful Dead Cover Band
- Matt Pascua as Wayne
- Edric Carter as Male Nurse
- Matthew Noyes as Grateful Dead Fan Musicians
- John Dickerson Jr. as Grateful Dead Fan Musicians
- Denise McSweeny as Toll Booth Operator
- Alina Gatti as College Freshman
- Cheryl Strayed as Woman in Truck
- Evan O'Toole as Kyle
- Henry Shotwell as Son of Man at Gas Station
- Vincent M. Biscione as Truck Driver (uncredited)
- Dylan Hall as Hippie Kid (uncredited)
- Ted Rooney as Crazy Guy (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 12% 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
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 15 | 0 |
| 5 to 8 | 14 | 17 |
| 9 to 12 | 7 | 5 |
| 13 to 16 | 6 | 3 |
| 17 to 20 | 7 | 0 |
| 21 to 24 | 17 | 3 |
| 25 to 28 | 5 | 0 |
| 29 to 32 | 8 | 3 |
| 33 to 36 | 12 | 23 |
| 37 to 40 | 9 | 5 |
| 41 to 44 | 7 | 6 |
| 45 to 48 | 3 | 0 |
| 49 to 52 | 18 | 9 |
| 53 to 56 | 2 | 0 |
| 57 to 60 | 11 | 5 |
| 61 to 64 | 3 | 3 |
| 65 to 68 | 14 | 18 |
| 69 to 72 | 23 | 1 |
| 73 to 76 | 9 | 13 |
| 77 to 80 | 6 | 7 |
| 81 to 84 | 32 | 15 |
| 85 to 88 | 7 | 0 |
| 89 to 92 | 10 | 0 |
| 93 to 96 | 9 | 0 |
| 97 to 100 | 10 | 2 |
| 101 to 104 | 8 | 3 |
| 105 to 108 | 6 | 0 |
| 109 to 112 | 1 | 0 |
| 113 to 116 | 0 | 0 |
| 117 to 120 | 22 | 7 |
| 121 to 124 | 14 | 0 |
| 125 to 128 | 4 | 0 |
| 129 to 132 | 5 | 5 |
| 133 to 136 | 18 | 8 |
| 137 to 140 | 21 | 8 |
| 141 to 144 | 11 | 1 |
| 145 to 148 | 8 | 8 |
| 149 to 152 | 6 | 3 |
| 153 to 156 | 11 | 27 |
| 157 to 160 | 4 | 5 |
| 161 to 164 | 4 | 15 |
| 165 to 168 | 30 | 10 |
| 169 to 172 | 4 | 0 |
| 173 to 174 | 4 | 0 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
CHERYL: What about trying to cure her? You don't see that as your fucking job? Bobbi turns to her. BOBBI: Cheryl! Watch your mouth.
CHERYL: I'm really sorry. LOU: I know you are, sweetheart.
BOBBI: I was never me. CHERYL: Don't talk about yourself as if it's over. It's not over, OK? We'll find someone who... BOBBI I: I've always been somebody's daughter or mother or wife. I never got to be in the driver's seat of my own life. I thought that would come. I …
CHERYL: You can see her when you're back. Bobbi stops walking. i BOBBI: Please.
STACEY: You must be Cheryl. I'm Stacey. Cheryl smiles in delight. CHERYL: You're a woman! She stands up and hugs her.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 65 are women's.
445 lines from women, 238 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
15 women and 34 men in the cast. 22 women and 31 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 2 of 772.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 7 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 70% of the words (9,345), men 30% (3,967). Women have 65% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Run the other way, for men, the film scores 2 out of 3.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
24
Two men
3
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 39% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Jean-Marc Vallée (man)
- Written by
- Nick Hornby (man)
- Produced by
- Reese Witherspoon (woman), Bruna Papandrea (woman), Bill Pohlad (man)
- Shot by
- Yves Bélanger (man)
- Edited by
- Jean-Marc Vallée (man), Martin Pensa (man)
- Production design by
- John Paino (man)
- Costumes by
- Melissa Bruning (woman)
- Cast by
- David Rubin (man), Lana Veenker (gender not listed), Eryn Goodman (gender not listed)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
6 women, 9 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 4 men, 6 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 2 men, 7 not listed
-
Production
6 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 2 men
-
Editing
0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 39 on average. Men: 46 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Gaby Hoffmann 32, Reese Witherspoon 38, Laura Dern 47
Men
Michiel Huisman 33, Kevin Rankin 38, Thomas Sadoski 38, W. Earl Brown 51, Cliff DeYoung 69
Exhibit H: the money
It made 3.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $15 million
- Box office
- $52.5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 174 scenes and 772 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
