Bechdel Test Movie List

I love this movie, but depending on how strictly you apply #3 it may be a closer call than one would think: nearly all of the female-female conversations are about Phil's son (i.e. a man) or his father (a young man). Although presumably talking about one's grown son is not the kind of "about a man" that the intent of the test would necessarily exclude.

It's not that much of a close call - several of the dialogs between Philomena and the nuns (all named) also involve religion and themselves, especially on the flashbacks, so even if someone is strict on what classifies as "talking about a man", it would still pass due to this other parts.

Clear pass for me. To point to a specific example, Sister Hildegarde and Philomena have an exchange in the yard during a flashback, which I'm nearly certain doesn't involve a man.

As a side note, I think the strength of the Bechdel test lies in its simplicity, and that adding interpretations regarding what kind of relationships the women conversing have to a mentioned man is unfortunate, since it diverges from that simplicity.