Passes the Bechdel test
Breathe
2017. Directed by Andy Serkis, written by William Nicholson.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
16 women characters. 13 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 5 scenes out of 110. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.
The film
When Robin (Andrew Garfield) is struck down by polio at the age of twenty-eight, he is confined to a hospital bed and given only a few months to live. With the help of Diana's (Claire Foy's) twin brothers (Tom Hollander) and the groundbreaking ideas of inventor Teddy Hall (Hugh Bonneville), Robin and Diana dare to escape the hospital ward to seek out a full and passionate life together, raising their young son, travelling, and devoting their lives to helping other polio patients.
- Released
- 27 Oct 2017
- Genres
- Biography, Drama, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.2 / 10
- Metascore
- 51 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 5 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Robin 266 lines, man
- Diana 217 lines, woman
- Bloggs 62 lines, man
- Jonathan 38 lines, man
- Clement Aitken 36 lines, man
- Teddy Hall 35 lines, man
- Colin Campbell 31 lines, man
- David 28 lines, man
- Paddy 23 lines, man
- Dr Entwistle 20 lines, man
Full cast, 59 people
- Andrew Garfield as Robin Cavendish
- Claire Foy as Diana Cavendish
- Hugh Bonneville as Teddy Hall
- Tom Hollander as Bloggs Blacker / David Blacker
- Miranda Raison as Mary Dawney
- Dean-Charles Chapman as Jonathan
- Diana Rigg as Lady Neville
- Ed Speleers as Colin Campbell
- Emily Bevan as Nurse Margaret
- Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Dr. Don McQueen
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Hospital Chaplain
- Camilla Rutherford as Katherine Robertson
- Penny Downie as Tid
- Amit Shah as Dr. James Khan
- David Wilmot as Paddy
- Patrick Godfrey as Mr. Tolland
- Steven O'Donnell as Harry Tennyson
- Lorraine Ashbourne as First Woman
- Rosie Cavaliero as Second Woman
- Stephen Mangan as Dr. Clement Aitken
- Kiera Bell as Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)
- Honey Holmes as Robin's Bedside Guest (uncredited)
- Ty Hurley as Ambulance Man (uncredited)
- Harry Attwell as Mechanic
- Mark Underwood as Patient 1 (uncredited)
- Charlene Durrant as Nurse (uncredited)
- Adam Ganne as German Hospital Official
- Charles Streeter as Chief Medic Lyneham
- Simon North as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
- Jason Farries as Robin's Friend / Guest (uncredited)
- Shane Griffin as Doctor (uncredited)
- Jack Jenkins as Wicket Keeper (uncredited)
- George Dawson as Polio Patient (uncredited)
- Jason Grangier as Robin's Guest (uncredited)
- Brian Gillham as Obstetrician - Kenya (uncredited)
- Gary John Clarke as Garden Party Guest (uncredited)
- David Louw as German Delegate
- Mark J. Paterson as Robin's Guest (uncredited)
- Jonathan Hyde as Dr. Entwistle
- Sylvester Groth as Dr. Erik Langdorf
- Marina Bye as Pamela Harris
- David Butler as Estate Manager
- André Jacobs as Governor
- Terry Norton as Governor's Wife
- Dallon Brewer as Jonathan Aged 2
- Deacon Brewer as Jonathan Aged 2
- Jack Madigan as Jonathan Aged 5
- Frank Madigan as Jonathan Aged 5
- Tom Turner as Rory Stewart
- Harriet Turnbull as Little Girl
- Harry Marcus as Jonathan Aged 10
- Tony Caprari as Spanish Motorist
- John Herbert as Spanish Priest
- Aurelie Stratton as Spanish Woman
- Adam Neill as Mr. Pickering
- Ross Sambridge as German Receptionist
- Norman Anstey as Conference Chairman
- Dean-Charles Chapman as Jonathan age 22
- Heather Nicol as Barmaid
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 110
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 3 | 0 | 11 |
| 4 to 6 | 8 | 9 |
| 7 to 9 | 9 | 16 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 to 15 | 16 | 24 |
| 16 to 18 | 9 | 10 |
| 19 to 21 | 8 | 25 |
| 22 to 24 | 6 | 7 |
| 25 to 27 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 to 30 | 4 | 7 |
| 31 to 33 | 4 | 14 |
| 34 to 36 | 18 | 18 |
| 37 to 39 | 5 | 19 |
| 40 to 42 | 19 | 17 |
| 43 to 45 | 15 | 33 |
| 46 to 48 | 3 | 18 |
| 49 to 51 | 11 | 10 |
| 52 to 54 | 9 | 19 |
| 55 to 57 | 3 | 6 |
| 58 to 60 | 5 | 27 |
| 61 to 63 | 6 | 11 |
| 64 to 66 | 9 | 17 |
| 67 to 69 | 5 | 28 |
| 70 to 72 | 13 | 11 |
| 73 to 75 | 20 | 25 |
| 76 to 78 | 5 | 17 |
| 79 to 81 | 3 | 32 |
| 82 to 84 | 16 | 22 |
| 85 to 87 | 1 | 16 |
| 88 to 90 | 1 | 36 |
| 91 to 93 | 4 | 12 |
| 94 to 96 | 2 | 12 |
| 97 to 99 | 4 | 18 |
| 100 to 102 | 8 | 44 |
| 103 to 105 | 1 | 14 |
| 106 to 108 | 11 | 21 |
| 109 to 110 | 5 | 9 |
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.
MARY DAWNAY: Oh we’d all like to know that. DIANA: I don’t know. How did you, darling?
NURSE MARGARET: Let’s give you a suck, shall we? NURSE MARGARET: All comfy now? DIANA: They tell me you’ve been learning to talk.
DIANA: Do you think I could do that? NURSE MARGARET: I don’t see why not. It’s just like a Hoover, really. NURSE MARGARET: Here, give it a try. Hold it like this. DIANA: Oh God! Please! Take it!
TID: No, no, not for me. DIANA: Tid only drinks Dubonnet. TID: And only on my birthday.
DIANA: There’s nothing to worry about. It can be worked by hand. MARY DAWNAY: What about in the night? DIANA: I’m here.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 30 are women's.
269 lines from women, 635 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
16 women and 37 men in the cast. 13 women and 27 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 14 of 942.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 43 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 27% of the words (2,343), men 73% (6,497). Women have 30% 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
Two women
12
Two men
64
Exhibit F: behind the camera
2 of the 9 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 45% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Andy Serkis (man)
- Written by
- William Nicholson (man)
- Produced by
- Jonathan Cavendish (man)
- Shot by
- Robert Richardson (man)
- Edited by
- Masahiro Hirakubo (man)
- Music by
- Nitin Sawhney (man)
- Production design by
- James Merifield (gender not listed)
- Costumes by
- Charlotte Walter (woman)
- Cast by
- Lucy Bevan (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Costume & Make-Up
9 women, 5 men, 5 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 6 men, 6 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 6 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 2 men, 7 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 5 men, 4 not listed
-
Other crew
5 women, 0 men, 3 not listed
-
Directing
2 women, 2 men, 3 not listed
-
Editing
0 women, 1 men, 2 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 47 on average. Men: 34 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Claire Foy 33, Emily Bevan 35, Miranda Raison 39, Diana Rigg 79
Men
Dean-Charles Chapman 20, Dean-Charles Chapman 20, Ed Speleers 29, Ben Lloyd-Hughes 29, Andrew Garfield 34, Tom Hollander 50, Hugh Bonneville 53
Exhibit H: the money
What it cost and made, where TMDB lists it.
- Budget
- Not listed
- Box office
- $5 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 110 scenes and 942 lines of dialogue. How the test works
