Does it pass? bechdel.io

Passes the Bechdel test

Winter's Tale

2014. Directed by Akiva Goldsman, written by Akiva Goldsman and Mark Helprin.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    13 women characters. 7 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 4 scenes out of 131.
  3. 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.

Poster for Winter's Tale

The film

New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake (Colin Farrell), orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side. Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the love between Peter, an Irish burglar in his early 20's, and Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), a young girl, who is dying.

Released
14 Feb 2014
Genres
Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Rated
PG-13
IMDb
6.1 / 10
Metascore
31 / 100
Awards
2 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Peter Lake 230 lines, man
  2. Beverly 98 lines, woman
  3. Virginia 65 lines, woman
  4. Pearly Soames 63 lines, man
  5. Isaac Penn 34 lines, man
  6. Judge 31 lines, man
  7. Old Willa 28 lines, woman
  8. Willa 27 lines, woman
  9. Abby 21 lines, woman
  10. Humpstonejohn 13 lines
Full cast, 36 people
  • Colin Farrell as Peter Lake
  • Jessica Brown Findlay as Beverly Penn
  • Russell Crowe as Pearly Soames
  • William Hurt as Isaac Penn
  • Jennifer Connelly as Virginia Gamely
  • Will Smith as Judge
  • Eva Marie Saint as Willa (Adult)
  • Graham Greene as Humpstone John
  • Matt Bomer as Young Man
  • Kevin Durand as Cesar Tan
  • Kevin Corrigan as Romeo Tan
  • Lucy Griffiths as Mrs. Lake
  • Finn Wittrock as Gabriel
  • Neka Zang as Ballroom Dancer
  • Michael Crane as Ellis Isle Doctor
  • Brian Hutchison as Ellis Isle Official
  • Alan Doyle as Dingy Worthington
  • Jon Patrick Walker as Optometrist
  • Maurice Jones as Cecil Mature
  • Mckayla Twiggs as Young Willa
  • Matthew R. Staley as Oyster Boy
  • Scott Grimes as Carriage Driver
  • Brenda Wehle as Governess
  • Tom Morrissey as Butler
  • Joshua Henry as Gravesman
  • Ripley Sobo as Abby
  • Maggie Geha as Girl in Bed
  • Caitlin Dulany as Librarian
  • Norm Lewis as Custodian
  • Harriett D. Foy as Receptionist
  • Rob Campbell as Gwathmi
  • Scott Dillin as Grand Central Short Tail
  • Luis Augusto Figueroa as Ballroom Dancer
  • April Grace as Dr. Elizabeth Lee
  • Michelle Simone Miller as Humpstone John's Wife
  • Aidan Zusin as Immigrant Boy at Ellis Island

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 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 131

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 300
4 to 603
7 to 910
10 to 1225
13 to 1500
16 to 1808
19 to 2187
22 to 24013
25 to 27190
28 to 3000
31 to 33015
34 to 36012
37 to 3901
40 to 4210
43 to 4501
46 to 4800
49 to 51516
52 to 541731
55 to 57015
58 to 602022
61 to 6374
64 to 662045
67 to 6961
70 to 72528
73 to 75118
76 to 78516
79 to 81712
82 to 8445
85 to 8707
88 to 9007
91 to 93018
94 to 9681
97 to 99140
100 to 1021313
103 to 10508
106 to 1081530
109 to 111142
112 to 114245
115 to 11762
118 to 120031
121 to 1231418
124 to 1261121
127 to 12940
130 to 13150

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.
WILLA: Listen. WILLA: Do you hear a horse? WILLA: Beverly! BEVERLY: Hello, little one.
VIRGINIA: Abby, come on, please~ ABBY: I was dawdl.ing. VIRGINIA: Yes~ ABBY: me.
VIRGINIA: Hey, Abs, I have an idea. ABBY: You're always having ideas, Mom.. VIRGINIA: Yes. That~s true .. But this one 1.s a very good one. ABBY: Better than five-chocolate pie.
ABBY: All right then. I 1 m listening. VIRGINIA: What say we let your hair grow back? ABBY: We'd have to stop the treatments. VIRGINIA: Yes, I suppose we would.
VIRGINIA: Try and eat something, baby. ABBY: Okay. ABBY: Mama, where do you think we go when we die? VIRGINIA: I don't k.now1 baby girl~

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 37 are women's.

256 lines from women, 441 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

13 women and 21 men in the cast. 7 women and 36 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 11 of 788. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 54 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

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

Words spoken

Women speak 31% of the words (2,077), men 69% (4,650). Women have 37% 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

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 23% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Akiva Goldsman (man)
Written by
Akiva Goldsman (man)
From the novel by
Mark Helprin (gender not listed)
Produced by
Akiva Goldsman (man), Marc Platt (man), Michael Tadross (man)
Shot by
Caleb Deschanel (man)
Edited by
Tim Squyres (man), Wayne Wahrman (man)
Music by
Rupert Gregson-Williams (man), Hans Zimmer (man)
Production design by
Naomi Shohan (woman)
Costumes by
Michael Kaplan (man)
Cast by
Lora Kennedy (woman), Cindy Tolan (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Sound

    4 women, 20 men, 4 not listed

  • Production

    5 women, 11 men, 2 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    3 women, 5 men, 8 not listed

  • Other crew

    4 women, 11 men

  • Art

    2 women, 7 men, 3 not listed

  • Camera

    2 women, 5 men, 5 not listed

  • Directing

    1 women, 3 men, 3 not listed

  • Editing

    0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 52 on average. Men: 47 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Jessica Brown Findlay 24, Jennifer Connelly 43, Eva Marie Saint 89

Men

Matt Bomer 36, Colin Farrell 37, Kevin Durand 40, Will Smith 45, Russell Crowe 49, Graham Greene 61, William Hurt 63

Exhibit H: the money

It made 51% of what it cost.

Budget
$60 million
Box office
$30.8 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 131 scenes and 788 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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