Bechdel Test Movie List

There are multiple named women in this movie, but they never talk to each other.

Actually, doesn't Mélanie Laurent's character exchange lines in French with the woman they're boarding with in New Orleans? I'm pretty certain she gives the woman's name (looking over the credits it may be Marie Claire), but I'm bad with names and can't remember.

While they do speak to each other, it is A) in French, and the movie probably doesn't expect most of the audience to understand French, and B) if I remember correctly their conversation is muffled, and we only hear the tail end of their conversation even if it could be understood. I also don't remember the woman being named but that could be just my faulty memory. Regardless even if it passed it would be dubious at best.

... and C) Unless someone translates the conversation, we can't assume they weren't talking about a man.

I feel like this movie ignored the presence of women at best. (Melanie's character seemed more of a construct than anything else.)

I haven't seen this movie and I am sure it fails the test.

But what do you mean Yi? I mean does it need to have to have a plane in the sky saying she is a woman? Can't it be respected that she is a human being and her gender doesn't necessarily matter? I mean I'm not trying to insinuate something and I haven't seen the movie. Just please elaborate.

Matt, I think what Yi means is that the only reason Melanie's character was introduced was for the sake of Mark Ruffalo's character having a love interest instead of being a strong independent woman there to help solve the case. And on the topic of the actual rating, Now You See Me only passes the 1st test, and even that is by a small margin.

For the record, Mélanie Laurent and Marie-Claire's discussion :
- We'll care about that later Marie-Claire.
- *smiles and say absolutly nothing*

So it's not about a man but I'm not even sure it passes the 2nd test as MC doesn't even answer.

I agree with the rating and it was a pity because while Henley is really a token girl in the group of magicians, Alma is quite interesting. Despite the final twist she is the only one that doesn't get fooled all the time, she can run, she can drive, she doesn't shoot like an idiot like her male colleagues do and she doesn't let Dylan walk all over her when he is angry or drunk, infact she replies quite effectively demanding the respect and backup she is owed. The fact that in the end he is the magician and tricked her among everybody else isn't really important. Among all the characters (who are magicians and should know better) she is the only one who got close to the truth.

I was disappointed in the minimal contact among women in this movie. Furthermore, beyond the two female main characters, few other women speak more than one word.

This film could've easily past the test if there was a scene where Henley was interrogated by Dray and Rhodes. They're (Dray and Henley) both very interesting characters. It's a shame they didn't interact.

I think that this movie passes all three. There's one scene where the character of Mélanie Laurent is interrogating Isla Fisher about their magic trick. I think it counts although Mark Ruffalo is in the same room (I'm not good at remembering names of the characters)

It's amazing how fast I'm starting to pick up on stuff like this in the industry. The rating stands, in my opinion. I don't just go by any conversation between two women, but use Anita's amendment that the conversation has to be meaningful. The French talk and the interrogation both aren't really meaningful (in the sense of Bechdel's Test, not necessarily for the movie itself) and therefore doesn't all but one of the requirements.

Completely off base and minor spoilers ahead, but still relevant, I'm actually disappointed that Ruffalo ended up being the love interest of the Interpol lady, and that Isla's character didn't play a more significant role (except for being chastised by a man for trivial matters or being pestered for sex).

Marie Claire (the French lady who owns the apartment the FBI stay in while in New Orleans) and Alma Dray do have a conversation, and this conversation isn't about a man (I think someone said that it was something about what they were doing, or something like that)

It annoyed me throughout the film how male dominated it was.
Why couldn’t another magician be a woman? Why couldn’t their benefactor (Arthur Tressler) be a woman? Why couldn’t Mark Ruffalo’s character be a woman, and his sidekick (who unbelievably decides to let it pass that Ruffalo is behind all the crimes they spent the whole movie solving) be a man?
Any, or all of these, options would have made the movie less annoying - and more bechdel worthy.