Bechdel Test Movie List

The film has one named female character, Michelle, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. She interacts with three named male characters, Ben, Howard, and Emmett. She does interact with one other woman, and they talk about something besides a man (the woman is begging Michelle to let her into the bunker), but the other woman is unnamed (she is credited as "woman" in the final credits).

Since she did interact with another woman, and they didn't talk about a man, shouldn't it be 2 of 3 tests?

Even though the woman the lead speaks to is uncredited, in the film John Goodman's character says her name was Leslie. It would be a shame to dismiss this movie with such a strong and well constructed female character be dismissed by this tiny fact.

Howard states that the woman outdoors was a neighbor who he thinks was named Leslie. She speaks to Michelle about being let in from the situation outdoors. This should pass.

The older woman was named by John Goodman's character later after the encounter at the door. He said that was Leslie (?) his neighbor who lived nearby and knew of his bunker.

The woman is later named in the movie as Leslie. They have a discussion that she was one of Howard's neighbors.

It is not required for the other woman to be named in the credits. This passes the criteria clearly: two women exchanging words about something other than men, in this case entry to the bunker.

The woman is named; Howard mentions that she is his neighbor Leslie.

I've updated the rating from 0/3 to 3/3.

The protagonist is Michelle. The other female character who is not a photograph may or may not be called Leslie, and screams at Michelle in the only scene where she appears in the movie. Problem is: what does "talk" mean? It feels, to me, that "10 Cloverfield Lane" only passes the first Bechdel test, because Michelle never talks to Leslie - she talks to Howard about Leslie.

I cannot agree with the rating, since the two female characters are NOT talking to each other. One is begging the other to let her in, which is dismissed by the other character. This is NOT a conversation.
I thus agree with Alexandre.

I agree with Alexandre and OlivierAM with this rating; while Michelle is the film's protagonist, the other woman -- Leslie -- is barely a character. She exists only to hint at something going on outside and nothing more. What's more, as has been pointed out above, Michelle doesn't actually talk to Leslie during the scene, so it's not really a conversation.

I've seen comments about how the film shouldn't be dismissed because Michelle is a strong, capable character. And while she is one of the best parts of the movie (especially since her actress has to hold her own against acting-powerhouse John Goodman) and while I really enjoyed this film, I think people miss the point of the Bechdel-Wallace test. It's not meant to judge a single film's feminist value; it's meant to shed light on a larger ongoing problem regarding the representation of women in the media. One film not passing is one thing. The majority of films released in a year not passing is a whole different issue.

They never talk to each other. Leslie yells to let her in. Michelle tells Howard about the woman at the door, but never actually addresses the woman directly. Never even a "sorry, you can't come in". Leslie talks to Michelle, Michelle talks to Howard. They never actually talk to "each other". Thus I don't think it passes fully on the test.

Leslie and Michelle interact. The interaction is very important to both of them - Leslie dies because of Michelle's refusal to open the bunker, and Michelle is convinced the air outside is actually poisonous, which significantly changes her attitude towards Howard and being in the bunker.

Of course it is a sign of the broader issue of gender representation in movies that we are debating whether this single interaction constitutes a pass. But looking only at the test, each character has at least one speech which has the other as the intended listener - that's a clear pass to me.

It passes the test, but barely. Really, I could accept either interpretation. I think that, if anything, it shows the limitations of such a simple test, (as well as saying something about movies which can't pass it!). Obviously, we have a movie with a strong, well-fleshed-out, female character. She's the main protagonist. Should it be dismissed simply because it fails a strict interpretation of the Bechdel-Wallace test? Perhaps the test needs tweaking?

I think it would be 1 out of 3 because Michelle never actually talks to Leslie, her responses are always to Howard.

I think this should be 1/3. Michelle doesn't talk to Leslie. Just because 1 named woman is yelling at another named woman doesn't mean they are talking to each other. Every single thing Michelle says is directed at Howard. This isn't a pass.

I agree with Sudon't - this film clearly exposes the limitations of the Bechdel test.

the bechdel test is feminist propoganda in order to censor pieces of artwork that doesn't feature women as a main role in the movie.
if a movie having a role dedicating to a specific gender bothers you, you are sexist.

The movie does not pass the test, since the women don't speak to each other. There is no conversation.

There are great movies that have no conversation at all, and that's fine. But they do not pass the test. Just because a movie is great, or even that it has a strong female character doesn't make it pass the Bechdel test.

The movie has male characters speaking with each other, having conversations, doesn't it? It's not a documentary about penguins? It's not a movie about the internal workings of an all-male convent? So the lack of a single conversation between to female characters is precisely why the Bechdel test came into public consciousness in the first place.

For me it fails. 1: We don't really know her name. Leslie is how Howard names her, but the man tells a lot of lies (but OK, he "names" her). 2: They don't talk between them, there is no conversation. 3: As they don't talk, they don't talk about anything.

IMO this doesn't pass. We don't even know whether the woman is called Leslie or not. Howard is not sure of her name, and even more, he could have been lying to Michelle and didn't know at all who was the woman. He does lie to michelle all the time.

The two men in the bunker wear long sleeve shirts over t shirt. Woman is wearing tight a-shirt over visible bra. wardrobe is relevant

I'm thinking this one failed. The character isn't really named enough. She feels too much like a prop or background character to count.

But then, I'm not of the school of thought that every movie that passes is GOOD and every movie that fails is BAD. Actually, I think it's interesting to find movies that fail the Bechdel test yet have interesting, fully fleshed out female characters.

I also disagree with the rating.
As they already mentioned:
1) Leslie's name is unclear, and definitely is not a relevant character for the plot.
2) There's no conversation.
* I agree that Michelle is a substantial female character, but yet the movie as a wholes does not pass the test.

As much as I loved this movie, it did have flaws when it came to the Bechdel Test. On one hand the scene could be seen as a quick fix to the writers realizing they only had one woman, or it could be viewed the way I see it- as a critical plot point. Part of what made the movie so great for me was that she was the only woman. She was trapped in an underground bunker with two strange men, but she handled herself in a way that felt true to what that would be like in an actual situation. This movie especially showed a realistic psychological progression of thought and feeling.
Overall, I do think that it doesn't really count as a conversation, but I also think that the interaction between the two women was important enough to allow for some leeway.

I believe this movie fails the Bechdel test with a score of only 1 out of 3. There are 2 named characters, Michelle and Leslie, however they do not talk "to each other" Leslie speaks directly to Michelle through the glass, but Michell never speaks to Leslie, instead she is speaking directly to Howard behind her on the other side of the door. There is no exchange between the women, Leslie talks to Michelle, Michelle talks to Howard and Howard talks to Michelle, the only conversation in this scene is between Michelle and Howard. As the requirement of #2 is to "talk to each other" i feel this film must fail with a score of 1/3.

The character of Leslie does indeed speak to Michelle, pleading with her to open the door, but Michelle never responds directly to Leslie, rather she describes what she is seeing from the airlock to Howard behind the locked door. I believe there to be no conversation occurring between the women at all, and therefore it fails before getting to the third criteria.

The movie does not pass the test, since the women don't speak to each other, and the other woman is barely named. Even in the credits she appears as "woman".

There is no conversation. She only begs to get in, and the protagonist doesn't respond. If that would be the case, even if a woman hears another woman scream for help at the distance it should be considered a conversation (when clearly it's not).

The movie has male characters speaking with each other, having conversations, but no women. So the lack of a single conversation between to female characters is precisely why the Bechdel test came into public consciousness in the first place.

Spoiler warning: This is a transcript of the scene with Leslie.


Woman: Oh, God! Thank God!

Michelle: There's a woman. She-

Woman: Open the door! It's okay. I just want to come inside.

Michelle: She looks hurt. She wants me to let her in.

Howard: Do not let her in! Look at her face, Michelle!

Woman: No, no, no .. no, no. Oh my God, I'm fine, I really am fine. No please, I'm okay! It really only - it only touched me a little. A little! So could you open the door? Open it!

Michelle: She's begging me.

Howard: You can't help her! No one can!

Woman: Let me in, I'll be okay. I'll be okay, it really hardly touched me at all. Open the door!

Howard: Don't listen to her!

Woman: God! Open the door, you bitch! Let me in! Let me in! Let me in! Let me in! Let me in! You! You, you, you! You!


I agree with many other posters that Michelle did not talk to the other woman, so this movie should be rated 1/3.